BOONE, N.C. – Before her team stepped foot on the field this spring, head coach
Aimee Haywood sought to develop a culture of winning, with an emphasis on leadership.
The App State women's soccer team met weekly for a variety of team-building exercises, including reading Julie Foudy's book "Choose to Matter."
Those moments laid the foundation for the spring, which culminated in a 3-0 shutout win at High Point on Sunday, when the Mountaineers' high-pressure play stunned the Panthers. It was a total team win. Every Mountaineer who dressed for the game played, and goalkeepers
Kerry Eagleston,
Jazz Salters, and
Kelli Bostic combined on the shutout.
Junior
Hayley Boyles opened the scoring with a goal in the 75th minute, and freshman
Lela Stark buried two goals in the final 10 minutes of play.
"In the spring, we had so many different people scoring goals," Haywood said. "This is truly a team, and we're not reliant on any one player. We're working as a team, and different people are finding their moments."
In total, five different players combined to score seven goals across the four-game slate this spring. Compare that to last fall, when
Breckyn Monteith scored 10 of the team's 21 markers. She missed the final game of the spring season, yet the team won decisively, despite her absence.
The Mountaineers finished with a 3-1 record, with their only loss coming in a 2-0 defeat to South Carolina, a team that made it to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Tournament last fall.
"The goal for the spring was to develop a culture, to establish a culture of winning habits, to get buy-in, and to get the team to follow through on those things, and I think they saw how it paid off," Haywood said.
App State opened the spring with a 2-0 victory over UNC Greensboro on goals from
Sarah Widderich and
Izzy Lusardi. Then, in their only home contest of the spring, the Mountaineers claimed an overtime thriller from Radford, as
Stephanie Barbosa netted the game-winner in the extra period, following a goal from Boyles in regulation.
"It's always about winning habits," Haywood said. "What are you doing before practice to set yourself up to have a great practice? What are you doing before games to set yourself up to have a great game?"
Haywood, along with assistants
Mark Catterall and
Mikayla Krzeczowski, have implemented a new system this spring that, when paired with the right mindset and focus, should pay dividends in the fall.
"The way we compete in practice, developing those winning habits, that's where we've grown the most, and that's what it takes to win," Haywood said. "It's hard, it's a lot of work, but it's worth the payoff."
