BOONE, N.C. - App State field hockey travels north to battle the first-place Miami RedHawks starting Friday in a two-game road series.
Miami enters the weekend 9-1 overall and undefeated in the Mid-American Conference action, 6-0. Although no conference tournament will be played this spring, the RedHawks have won the last three MAC Tournament championships.
The third-place Mountaineers (7-5, 4-4 MAC) enter the road series on a four-game win streak after back-to-back sweeps of Ohio and Bellarmine.
Friday and Saturday's matchups will the 11th and 12th all-time meetings between the two programs. Miami holds a 7-3 all-time series lead over App State dating back to 2001. The last Mountaineer victory over the RedHawks occurred in 2003; App State won 4-1 in Boone.
Defensively, Miami has produced a total of four shutout victories this spring season and have only allowed seven goals. Senior forward Allie Grace Joyner is currently second in the MAC in goals scored this spring with six.
However, senior App State midfielder
Meghan Smart is the sole leader in the MAC in goals scored with 11. Smart won the MAC Offensive Player of the Week honors Tuesday after her five-goal outing this past weekend against Bellarmine, including a hat-trick effort.
Veerle Van Heertum and
Pauline Mangold complete the three-headed offensive attack for the Mountaineers. As a team, the Black and Gold leads the conference in goals scored with 34 on the year.
The first offensive-defensive showdown is set for 2 p.m. Friday at the Miami Field Hockey Complex in Oxford, Ohio. Saturday's official first touch is scheduled for 1 p.m. Both games will not be live streamed on any provider.
