Towson, Md. – Three goals within five minutes in the third quarter propelled the App State Mountaineers (2-0) to a 4-1 victory over the Georgetown Hoyas (0-2) on Sunday and capped off an undefeated opening weekend.
It was a day full of firsts for the Mountaineers on Sunday. Both
Sophia Baxter and
Florine Koopman notched their first career goals, while
Noa Ginjaume Matas was credited with her first two career assists on the day.
Both Baxter and Koopman recorded their first career multi-goal game in Sunday's win. Baxter would score the first goal of her career with 10 minutes to play in the third quarter. She would then slap her second career goal into the back of the cage just over five minutes later off a penalty corner to extend the App State lead to four.
Koopman would be the second Mountaineer to notch their first career multi-goal game on Sunday. After the Hoyas fired off two shots toward
Addie Clark in the first quarter, Koopman would take the pass off a penalty corner and capitalize on the chance to score, netting her first of the day. Then, in the third quarter, Koopman would score her second career goal to give the Mountaineers their second goal of the third quarter. The freshman midfieler tallied an astounding four points in her second game as a Mountaineer.
The Mountaineers were incredibly efficient with the shots they took in today's contest. Of the 11 shots that were attempted by App State, seven of them were on goal. They applied constant pressure on the Hoya defense and found the back of the cage four times, recording the most goals the team has scored in a game since Oct. 23, 2022.
With today's win, the Mountaineers have now started the season 2-0 for the second straight season. Head coach
Emily Dinsmore has won her first two games as a head coach, which is the first time that feat has been accomplished by a Mountaineer head coach since Mandy Latz won her first two games in 2003.
"I'm proud of the way the team played this weekend," coach Dinsmore said. "The freshmen made the right adjustments and improved from the first to the second game. We love the way our team celebrates each other's successes and today we got to celebrate two first career goals. It was a special day."
How it Happened
1st: The Mountaineers started Sunday's contest off almost identical to Friday's win. Off the insert by
Florine Koopman after a penalty corner,
Sarah Perkins would leave the ball for
Charlotte Bosma who would then fire a shot that was deflected by the Georgetown defense, but the inserter Koopman was there to clean up the miss and shot it right past the Georgetown defense and into the back of the cage to give the Mountaineers an early lead.
Georgetown would lead the quarter in shots attempted, but the Mountaineers would take a one goal lead into the second quarter.
2nd: The second quarter saw several chances for the Hoyas to tie the game. Georgetown would draw one penalty corner and attempt four shots, but
Addie Clark continued her great play between the posts and recorded two more saves in the second.
App State did not attempt a shot in the second quarter, but the defense held firm as Bosma's goal gave the Mountaineers a 1-0 lead after one half of play.
3rd: App State would immediately take control of the game coming out of the halftime break, scoring three goals in the quarter and breaking the game wide open.
Sophia Baxter would net her first career goal after App State drew its third penalty corner of the game. Baxter took the pass from
Sarah Farrell and smacked the ball past the Hoya goalkeeper to make the score 2-0. Farrell's assist was her first of the season and sixth of her career.
30 seconds later, App State would find the back of the cage for the third time of the day.
Florine Koopman would score her second career goal and second of the day off a redirect to give App State a 3-0 lead. Both
Grace Ball and
Noa Ginjaume Matas were credited with assists on Koopman's goal. The assist by Ginjaume Matas was her first career assist.
With five minutes to play in the third quarter, Baxter would score her second career goal and second of the day off yet another App State penalty corner. Ball and Ginjaume Matas were credited with the assists, giving them both two for the day.
App State would apply pressure on the Hoya defense all quarter, outshooting them 7-2 in the third.
4th: The Hoyas would score their lone goal of the day just three minutes into the fourth quarter on Sunday. Lois Lekawael was responsible for this goal with assists credited to Julia Hall and Sophie Towne.
But it was too little, too late for the Hoyas as a monster third quarter by the Mountaineers would put this game out of reach and propel the team to its second consecutive 2-0 start.
Match Notes
Goals
App: Baxter 2 (2), Koopman 2 (2)
GU: Lekawael (1)
Assists
App: Bosma (1), Perkins (2), Farrell (1), Ball 2 (2), Ginjaume Matas 2 (2)
GU: Towne (2), Hall (1)
Winning Goalie –
Addie Clark (2-0): 4 saves, 1 goal allowed
Losing Goalie – Bailey Teitz (0-2): 4 saves, 4 goals allowed
Coach's Thoughts
We're taking things one game at a time, but we are proud of the way the team battled today, particularly in the third quarter to earn the win," Dinsmore said.
Up Next
The Mountaineers will return to the high country for their first home game on Friday, Sep. 1 where they will take on the Drexel Dragons. First touch from Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field is set for 7 p.m. and can be streamed on Twitch, YouTube and our
Facebook page.
