App State to Host George Mason in Home Opener Sunday

OPENING KICK: Following an impressive showing on the road against Wake Forest, App State returns to Boone where they will welcome George Mason to The Valley for their home-opener, Sunday at 1 p.m.
 
APP STATE LAST TIME OUT: App State held their own on the road against Wake Forest on Thursday night, falling 1-0 to the Demon Deacons, who have made the NCAA Tournament each of the past two seasons. The lone goal of the match came on a Wake Forest crossing attempt that was defected and ricocheted into the back of the net. Kerry Eagleston shined in goal, making six saves on the night, while Olivia Simon produced one of the Mountaineers four shots on goal, earning the start in her first career game. The one-goal loss represented the Mountaineers best result against an autonomy five program since App State defeated Maryland 2-1 in 2016.
 
ABOUT APP STATE: After a 2022 season that saw App State more than double its conference win total from the 2021 campaign, the Mountaineers look to take the next step forward in 2023. App State finished 7^th in the Sun Belt with a record of 6-9-4 overall and 5-5 in league play. Behind fifth-year senior goalkeeper Kerry Eagleston, who ranks third in program history for both shutouts and saves, the Mountaineers look to blend veteran experience with 11 freshmen newcomers. In addition to Eagleston, App State returns Izzi Wood, who led the team with six goals last season, and Shannon Studer, who scored three goals and added two assists as a freshman last fall. Skyler Walk will anchor the defensive unit. She was the lone Mountaineer field player to start in all 19 matches last season. The Mountaineers posted an undefeated spring season, earning draws against Virginia Tech and South Carolina.
 
ABOUT GEORGE MASON: George Mason looks to rebound after a tough 2022 season that saw them go just 1-10-7 and 0-5-5 in A10 play. Outside of their lone victory over Howard, the Patriots never scored more than one goal in a match. Sophie Davidson, who was tied for the team lead in scoring as a freshman, returns to lead the offensive attack. Selamawit Caldart, who started 15 games in net last season also returns for GMU. Of the 37 members on the Patriots roster, 32 of them are either freshmen or sophomores. Senior Milan Pierre-Jerome and assistant coach Alyssa Whitehead both participated in the 2023 FIFA World Cup this summer representing Haiti and Jamaica, respectively.
 
GEORGE MASON LAST TIME OUT: The Patriots dropped their season-opener, to another Sun Belt opponent in Old Dominion, falling 3-0 on Thursday. GMU conceded 22 shots and nine corner kicks in the match. Freshman goalkeeper Ginny Frank came off the bench to play the final 65 minutes of the match after Mason conceded two goals in the opening 18 minutes of play.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Mountaineers and Patriots have met three times prior. Most recently the two squads faced off last August in Fairfax and battled to a 0-0 draw. Breckyn Monteith led the Mountaineers with four shots in the match, while Kerry Eagleston registered four saves.
 
ELEVATING THE A: App State won five conference matches last season, a significant improvement from their two Sun Belt wins a season ago. The five conference wins are the most for App State since 2018 when they went 6-4 in Sun Belt play. App State improved by nine points over last year's finish, marking the biggest jump for any team in the Sun Belt last year. They also finished seventh in the Sun Belt standings, despite being ranked 13^th in the preseason poll, also marking the largest jump for any squad.
 
INCREDIBLE IZZI: App State returns their leading goal scorer from a season ago in the form of junior forward Izzi Wood. After missing the 2021 season with a torn ACL, Wood returned to score six goals for the Mountaineers in 2022, leading the team with 12 points on the campaign. She also finished the season with 52 shots, including 24 shots on goal, with ranked 7^th in the Sun Belt. She netted a brace against Radford on Sept. 15 and scored in back-to-back games late in the season to help the Mountaineers earn a Sun Belt tournament berth.
 
SUPER STUDER: Shannon Studer is coming off a sensational freshman season for the Mountaineers. She finished second on the team with eight points last season, scoring three goals and adding two assists. One of Studer's goals came in the Sun Belt tournament against Marshall. Studer, who played both defense and midfield, played 1,575 minutes on the year, the second most by an App State field player. She played at least 90 minutes in nine matches on the campaign. She was also tied for the team lead with two game-winning goals.
 
BETWEEN THE PIPES: Fifth year goalkeeper Kerry Eagleston has been a mainstay between the pipes for the Mountaineers, playing and starting in 73 games across four seasons. Eagleston ranks third in program history in both career saves and career shutouts. Last season she led the Sun Belt in saves (93), while ranking third in save percentage (.809), fifth in shutouts (6), and seventh in goals against average (1.166). Eagleston recorded six saves against Wake Forest on Thursday.
 
THE KERRY COUNTER:
Career Shutouts:
1. 24, Breland Meany...................................................2001-2004
2. 21, Caroline Clarke................................................. 2007-2010
3. 18, 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. 358 Kerry Eagleston................................................2019-present
4. 319 Caroline Clarke.................................................. 2007-2010
 
 
HAYWOOD AT THE HELM: Aimee Haywood is in her second season as head coach for the Mountaineers. Haywood led App State to a 7^th place finish in 2022, despite being picked 13^th in the preseason. Hawyood's five conference wins in her first season are the most by a first-year coach in program history. Haywood joined 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.
 
WALK THIS WAY: The Mountaineers back line is led by junior Skyler Walk who was the only Mountaineer to start all 19 matches a season ago. Walk led the team in minutes, playing all but 23 on the season, while helping the defense record six clean sheets on the year. Walk scored her first career goal Oct. 14, 2022 against Old Dominion, bouncing home a free kick from 45-yards out. Walk was one of five Mountaineer field players to play all 90 minutes on Thursday.
 
UP NEXT: App State will travel across the mountains into Tennessee to take on UT Martin, Thursday at 5 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+. Last season the Mountaineers defeated the Skyhawks 2-1 in Boone, marking Aimee Haywood's first win as App State's head coach.