Mountaineers Take on Conference Leader James Madison

OPENING KICK: Unbeaten over its last six matches, App State looks to continue its success on the road as the team faces James Madison Thursday, which sits atop the Sun Belt standings. Kickoff from Sentara Park is set for 7 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Mumu Guisasola scored her first career goal, heading in a corner kick with 20 minutes to play, to battle back and force a 1-1 draw with Marshall in Huntington on Sunday. App State fell behind just four minutes into play but had several quality scoring chances in addition to the lone goal. Izzi Wood had a good look from inside the box saved in the opening half, and with the score tied 1-1 in the second half, Ellie Garrison rang a shot off the far post. Sarah Wommack made a pair of sensational saves as well to help the App State defense in the outing. With the point on Sunday, App State is now 5-3-5 overall and 2-0-3 in Sun Belt play.
 
ABOUT JAMES MADISON: Leading the Sun Belt with 16 points this season and a 5-0-1 mark in Sun Belt play, JMU enters Thursday's matchup on a seven-game unbeaten streak, having not lost since Sept. 5 at West Virginia. The Dukes lead the Sun Belt with an RPI of 65 this season. JMU is led offensively by freshman Ginny Lackey, who leads the Sun Belt with nine goals and has added two assists, despite playing just eight matches this year. Reigning Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week Lexi Vanderlinden is one of four other Dukes to have accumulated double-digit points already this season and tallied two goals and an assist in last week's games. JMU has outscored its opponents 28-19 this season despite taking just ten more shots than the opposition on the year. Sofia DeCerb has played all but 14 minutes in goal for the Dukes this year and owns a 1.48 goals-against average and three shutouts.
 
SERIES HISTORY: App State and JMU have met four times in program history, with the Dukes leading the all-time series 3-0-1. Last year during the regular season, App State netted an 89^th minute goal to earn a 1-1 draw with the Dukes at home, but James Madison returned the favor with an overtime goal in the Sun Belt tournament to defeat the Mountaineers 2-1 in the quarterfinals, before finishing as the runner-up to Old Dominion for the second straight year.
 
INCREDIBLE IZZI: Graduate student Izzi Wood notched her seventh and eighth goals of the season in the Mountaineers' 2-2 draw with Coastal Carolina last Thursday and has now scored seven goals across her last eight games. Wood now sits in fifth place on the App State scoring list with 23 goals in her career. She also ranks fourth all-time in shots with 201 and seventh in points with 52. Wood leads the Sun Belt in shots (55) and shots on goal (28) and is tied for second in the conference with eight goals. She also tied for second in game-winning goals (3) and third in points (17). Wood also ranks 13th nationally in shots on goal-per-game and 40th in the country in goals. The Hickory, N.C. native was named a preseason All-Conference selection after earning second team All-Conference honors last season – becoming the first Mountaineer to collect postseason Sun Belt honors since 2018. She was also named second team All-Region in 2023.
 
ENTER ELLIE: Freshman attacker Ellie Garrison has needed little time to adjust to the college game. The 2023 North Carolina Golden Boot award winner set state records for career goals (230) and single-season goals (96) during her career at Wheatmore High School. Garrison has scored four goals and tallied five assists this season, tolling 13 points in her first 13 collegiate games, the most points by an App State freshman in the Sun Belt era (2014-present). Garrison is tied for third in the Sun Belt in assists.
 
ON A ROLL: Following a 1-1 draw with Marshall on Sunday, the Mountaineers are in the midst of a six-game unbeaten streak, their longest since 2012, when App State went 5-0-1 across a six-game unbeaten streak from 9/23 – 10/12. The program record for consecutive unbeaten games is seven, accomplished in 2007 and in 2005 (seven straight wins).
 
A HELPING HAND: App State has registered 19 assists on its 20 goals this season, with nine different players collecting at least one helper. App State ranks sixth in the Sun Belt in scoring and tied for fourth in assists this season.
 
MAGIC OF MUMU: Graduate student Mumu Guisasola notched her first career goal, heading in a corner kick against Marshall to help the Mountaineers to a 1-1 draw on Oct. 13. Guisasola also recorded an assist against Georgia Southern, giving her a career-high three points on the campaign. Guisasola has played every minute of every game this season, bringing her experience and leadership to a young defensive unit this season. Guisasola has played in 80 career games and made 54 career starts for the Black and Gold.
 
PROTECTING THE VALLEY: In Aimee Haywood's three seasons at the helm, the Mountaineers have been stout at home, compiling a record of 13-3-6 (.727), and outscoring their opponents 38-18 at The Valley over that span. The Mountaineers posted a program-best 13-match unbeaten streak dating back to 2022, prior to their home loss to Radford on Sept. 5.
 
FRESH FACES: App State has seen nine freshmen or redshirt freshmen play in their first collegiate matches this season including five who have earned at least one start. Most notably, freshman Ellie Garrison ranks second on the team in points, while pacing the Black and Gold with five assists. Redshirt freshman Sarah Wommack has played every minute in goal this season. In total, the Mountaineers have played 22 players this season.
 
SET UP BY STEPH: Senior midfielder Stephanie Barbosa has been a key creator in the Mountaineers' attack this season. Just past the midway point of the campaign, Barbosa has already set a career high with four assists, and now has 10 helpers in 69 games in her App State career. Barbosa has recorded three assists in her last six games and the Mountaineers are unbeaten over that stretch.
 
FINDING THE NET: The App State offense has seen an uptick in production this season, averaging 1.54 goals-per-game which ranks fourth in the Sun Belt. App State has not finished a season with a mark higher than its current pace since 2013 when the team averaged 1.79 goals-per-game.
 
WINNING WAYS: Since her hire in Dec. 2021, Aimee Haywood has quickly elevated the Mountaineers' program. After the team won just two conference matches in 2021 prior to her arrival, Haywood guided the team to a 5-5 mark in league play in 2022, despite being picked 13th in the Sun Belt preseason poll. Last year, the team finished third in the Sun Belt, winning four of their final five regular season games, and going unbeaten at home. Haywood led the Mountaineers to a 2-0-2 start through the team's first four games of the season, marking its best start since 2007. With a record of 20-18-12 in three years at App State, Haywood boasts the best winning percentage of any coach in program history.
 
UP NEXT: App State will return to Boone on Sunday to take on Arkansas State in a contest that was rescheduled from Sept. 29 due to Hurricane Helene. The Red Wolves enter the weekend at 0-3-2 in Sun Belt play and will host Louisiana on Thursday. Sunday's match is slated for 12 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN+.