BOONE, N.C. - App State returns to Boone for its penultimate home contest of the season, as they take on Old Dominion for the first time as Sun Belt foes. It's Junior Mountaineer Kids Club Day at Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex, and all JMKC members will be able to participate in yard games, halftime entertainment, and a postgame autograph session. The match will get underway at 6 p.m. and be broadcast on ESPN+.
ABOUT APP STATE: App State (3-7-4, 2-4-0) is coming off a 2-0 loss to Georgia Southern, in which
Kerry Eagleston made six saves to move into third place on the program's all-time list with 325 in her career. Offensively App State tallied 10 shots (five shots on goal) in the contest, led by three shots from
Izzi Wood, of which two were on target. Wood leads the Mountaineers with four goals this season, and her 17 shots on goal rank tied for seventh in the conference, while her 37 shots overall rank eighth.
Shannon Studer has tallied two goals and two assists, and ranks second on the squad with six points. Eagleston has started every game in net for App State, posting a 1.32 goals-against-average and .786 save percentage, to go along with four shutouts.
ABOUT OLD DOMINION: The Monarchs (5-6-2, 2-2-2) have won back-to-back matches, following a pair of shutouts last week. On Thursday, they edged Troy, on the road, 1-0, before returning home to rout Coastal Carolina, 4-0, on Sunday. Carla Morich scored two goals and added an assist to lead the Monarchs with a five-point contest. She leads ODU with four goals on the season. Fellow senior forward Megan Watts ranks second on the team in points, with two goals and two assists. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Bredek has started each of the last three games in net for ODU, allowing just two goals, while recording 13 saves.
SERIES HISTORY: The Mountaineers and Monarchs have met just once prior. That contest took place in 2018, when App State and Old Dominion battled to a scoreless draw, despite playing two overtime periods in Norfolk, Va. Lauren Burke made five saves for the Mountaineers.
MIX 'N MATCH: App State has opened the match with a different starting lineup in all 14 contests this season. Goalkeeper
Kerry Eagleston and defender
Skyler Walk are the only players to start all 14 matches this season.
SPREADING THE WEALTH: Through 14 games this season, seven different players have scored at least one goal for the Mountaineers.
SUPER STUDER: Freshman
Shannon Studer netted the game-winning goal in each of the first two conference games for App State. Sept. 18 against ULM she scored the lone goal of the match, in the 64
th minute, with App State playing with just 10 players on the field. Then on Sept. 22 against Coastal Carolina, she answered a game-tying goal by the Chanticleers in the 81
st minute with a tally less than a minute later. Her two game-winning goals this season are tied for fifth most in the Sun Belt. Studer has also recorded a team-best two assists this season, helping on goals against UT Martin and College of Charleston. As a true freshman, Studer has started 13 of the first 14 matches this season, playing 1,1115 minutes on the campaign, the second most by an App State field player. Her six points this season also rank second on the team.
INCREDIBLE IZZI: Junior forward
Izzi Wood leads App State offensively with a team-best four goals, 37 shots, and 17 shots on goal. She recorded her first career two-goal match Sept. 15 against Radford, tallying her team-best third and fourth goals of the season, in a 2-2 draw. Wood scored on a free kick from about 30 yards out in the 8
th minute of play to open the scoring, and then four minutes later, tapped in a rebound off a
Gabby Tremonti free kick. Wood ranks eighth in the Sun Belt in shots and tied for seventh in shots on goal (17). She is the first Mountaineer to record a two-goal game since
Breckyn Monteith did so last year against Little Rock on October 24. Wood also scored twice in an exhibition match against UNC Asheville. She is playing for the first time since 2020 after missing last season due to injury.
IT BEGINS WITH BARBOSA: Sophomore
Stephanie Barbosa has become increasingly involved in the offensive production for the Mountaineers. September 25 at Marshall, she picked up her first assist of the season, feeding
Breckyn Monteith on the game-tying goal. Barbosa also scored her first goal of her career at The College of Charleston, when she headed home a cross from
Shannon Studer. Barbosa has played at least 30 minutes in every match this season.
WALK THIS WAY: Sophomore defender
Skyler Walk has been a huge catalyst for the Mountaineers this season, playing more minutes than any other player on the campaign. Walk has played 1,237 minutes this year, playing all 90 minutes in all but one contest. She has played at least 122 more minutes than any other field player on the squad.
BETWEEN THE PIPES: Senior goalkeeper
Kerry Eagleston has been a mainstay between the pipes for the Mountaineers, playing and starting in 68 games across four seasons. Eagleston recorded six saves against Georgia Southern on Sunday to move her into third place in program history. Eagleston leads the Sun Belt in saves (66), while third in save percentage (.786), and fourth in shutouts (4).
Last season, Eagleston led the Sun Belt with 113 saves, while also ranking tied for second in shutouts (3), fifth in save percentage (.813), and tenth in goals against average (1.37). She recorded double-digit saves three times, including a career-high 20 saves against Wake Forest, the second-most in a match in program history.
THE KERRY COUNTER:
Career Shutouts:
1. 24, Breland Meany...................................................2001-2004
2. 21, Caroline Clarke................................................. 2007-2010
3. 16, Kerry Eagleston ..............................................2019-present
4. 14, Megan Roebrson ...............................................2012-2015
Career Saves:
1. 375 Kelley Guinn ..................................................... 1994-1996
2. 369 Breland Meany...................................................2001-2004
3. 325 Kerry Eagleston................................................2019-present
4. 319 Caroline Clarke.................................................. 2007-2010
HAYWOOD AT THE HELM: Aimee Haywood was announced as the fifth head coach in App State soccer history when she was hired in December. Haywood joins the Black and Gold following a two-year stint at Queens University where she helped the Royals to a 16-5-1 record last season on their way to the second round of the Division II NCAA tournament. Haywood went 23-7-2 in two seasons at Queens. Prior to that she spent four years leading her alma mater, Ohio Dominican, where she complied a 44-25-10 record. In 2017 she led the Panthers to a program-record 16-win season that culminated with their first Division II NCAA tournament win.
ROLLING IN THE DEEP: Team depth is an aspect that has been prominently on display for the Mountaineers this season. On a roster comprised of 33 players, 26 have seen playing time already this year. Of those, 18 different players have earned at least one start, including newcomers
Shannon Studer (13 starts),
Anna Kate Highsmith (10),
Katie Schumacher (11),
Gabby Tremonti (5),
Felicia Erkenfeldt (3),
Lela Stark (3), and
Emilene Parham (1).
SCORELESS DRAWS: Following a 0-0 draw at George Mason, the Mountaineers have now posted three scoreless draws on the season, the most since 2010 when they recorded four on the year. They finished that season with five draws overall, the most in program history.
The Mountaineers opened the season with back-to-back scoreless draws, against Liberty and USC Upstate. Previously, the last scoreless draw involving App State came October 1, 2020 against The Citadel. The last time the Mountaineers posted scoreless draws in consecutive games was October 18 and 20 of 2013 when they did so against Wofford and Furman respectively. All scoreless draws prior to this season included overtime, which has since been eliminated from regular season contests.
UP NEXT: App State will be back on the road next week as they fly to Southern Miss for their first meeting with the Golden Eagles as Sun Belt foes. Kickoff from Hattiesburg, Miss. is set for 4 p.m.
