Mountaineers Close Out Home Season with Matchup Against Southern Miss

OPENING KICK: App State closes out their home schedule by hosting Southern Miss at 6 p.m. Thursday at The Valley. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. It's Rally at the Valley and the first 50 fans in attendance will receive custom T-shirts, while all students will receive pizza while supplies last.
 
APP STATE LAST TIME OUT: Despite a flurry of chances late in regulation, App State fell short, dropping Friday's match 1-0 at Old Dominion. Izzi Wood hit the post late in regulation, while Olivia Simon forced a leaping save moments later. App State finished tied with the Monarchs in shots, while holding an 8-6 advantage in shots on goal. Stephanie Barbosa led the way with four shots (three on target), while Kerry Eagleston recorded five saves to give her 395 in her career. App State is now 6-5-3 on the season and 3-2-2 in Sun Belt play.
 
ABOUT SOUTHERN MISS: The Golden Eagles are 6-7-1 on the season and 3-3-1 in Sun Belt play, following a 2-1 loss to Georgia Southern on Sunday. The Golden Eagles faced a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule with losses to Ole Miss, LSU, No. 22 Georgia and No. 12 Alabama. Adaira Nakano leads the Southern Miss attack with six goals and four assists in 14 games this season. She is one of six players to start every game on the year. Alex Helbling is the Golden Eagles goalkeeper; she has posted a 1.60 goals-against average and a .712 save percentage on the year.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Thursday's match marks the second all-time meeting between the Mountaineers and Golden Eagles. The two teams met for the first time last season when Southern Miss joined the conference – a 1-0 App State victory in Hattiesburg. Izzi Wood scored 14 minutes in, on an assist by Breckyn Monteith. Southern Miss went just 1-9-3 in their first season in the Sun Belt.
 
HOME COOKING: App State is unbeaten at home this season, with a record of 5-0-2. App State has outscored their opponents 13-2 at home this season, compared to being outscored 11-5 on the road. The Mountaineers did not allow a goal for the first 383 minutes of play at home this year. App State is working on a nine-game home unbeaten streak dating back to last year, and a win over Southern Miss would give them an undefeated season at home for the first time since 2019 when the team went 5-0-3.
 
APP STATE BY THE NUMBERS:
1 – Olivia Simon is one of just 12 freshmen in the country to record a hat-trick this season with her three goals in the second half against Marshall on Oct. 8.
5 – The Mountaineers five second half goals against Marshall were the most in a match since 2019 when they defeated UNC Asheville 6-0, and were the most in a single half since 2013 against the Citadel. It also ties the most goals scored against a Sun Belt opponent, matching an Oct. 4, 2015 performance against Texas State.
6 – Olivia Simon became the sixth player in program history, and the first since 2014, to record a hat-trick, tying the App State single-game scoring record.
9 – App State extended their home unbeaten streak to nine consecutive matches dating back to Oct. 14 of last season
14 – The 14 shots on goal against Marshall were the most in a match since Oct. 2, 2016 in a 3-1 win over ULM
86 – App State ranks 86^th nationally in RPI, and have improved their standing in each of the rankings that has been released this year. The last time the Mountaineers finished a season in the top-100 in RPI was 2015 when they came in 60^th.
356 – Through seven home matches this season, App State is averaging 356 fans in attendance, the second-highest mark in the Sun Belt
 
ON THE RISE: App State was unbeaten through their first four matches of conference play, marking the first time since 2013, and the first time as a Sun Belt member, that the Mountaineers had not lost a match through four conference contests. Overall, App State won three of its first five games this season, marking the fewest games played to accumulate three victories since 2016, when the Mountaineers won three of their first four games of the season. Additionally, App State's four consecutive shutouts from Aug. 20 – Sept. 3 matched a program record, also accomplished in both 2006 and 2007. During that span, App State put together a 447-minute streak without conceding a goal. Prior to this season, where they have twice gone four consecutive games without a loss, the Mountaineers had not had a four-game unbeaten streak since 2016.
UP NEXT: App State will conclude regular season play with a pair of road trips, beginning with a match at Arkansas State on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, and continuing with a Thursday night showdown with Georgia State at 6 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
SBC TOURNAMENT ON THE HORIZON: The Sun Belt tournament will be hosted Oct. 30 – Nov. 5 in Foley, Ala. The top-10 teams in the regular season will qualify for the tournament with the top six teams earning a first-round bye. Each division winner will be among the top-two seeds, with the subsequent eight finishers rounding out the tournament field. If the season ended today the Mountaineers would be the seven-seed in the tournament.