Mountaineers Face Off Against No. 18 Liberty in Ranked Matchup

The App State field hockey team takes on No. 18 Liberty on Sunday at noon. The Mountaineers (7-3, 4-0 MAC) are looking to extend the win streak to six, last defeating Kent State on Oct. 3. Sunday's game against Liberty (5-5, 1-2 Big East) is the first regular season matchup since 2015.
 
The Matchup

• Who: App State vs Liberty
• Where: Liberty Field Hockey Field // Lynchburg, Va.
• When: October 6 // Noon

 
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers defeated the Kent State Golden Flashes to a score of 1-0 last Friday. Frederique Grimbergen scored the lone goal against Kent State early in the fourth, giving the Mountaineers a late lead to finish. The Mountaineer defense held firm, tallying the fifth shutout of the season, a MAC high.
 
Scouting the Mountaineers  
The Mountaineer offense has been stellar to begin the season, as they are second in the MAC in goals scored with 24. The Mountaineers lead the MAC in shots and penalty corners, putting pressure on defenses in the attack zone. Charlotte Bosma leads the MAC with 30 shots on goal, while being tied for third in the conference in goals with four.
 
The Mountaineer defense has been solid this season, allowing a conference low 12 goals on the season. In the Mountaineers last matchup against Kent State, the Golden Flashes were held to six shots on the game, testing Claire Grenis only twice in goal in the game. Grenis has posted a MAC high five shutouts on the season, with the best goals against average in the conference.
 
Mountaineers have taken home MAC Player of the Week honors five times in four weeks of play. Grenis and Bosma have each won the award twice, sweeping both week one and week four, while Florine Koopman recieved Player of the Week in week three for her two-goal performance against Davidson.
 
App State was picked to finish second in the 2024 MAC Conference standings by the league's coaches. The team tied for first in the MAC last season after once again, tying a program-record for wins in a season with 14 and rattling off a nine-game winning streak to end the regular season. 
  
Scouting the Flames
Liberty enters this matchup against the Mountaineers after coming off an 17-3 (7-0 Big East) season in 2023. The Flames will be led by head coach Nikki Parsley-Blocker, who is in her 8^th year with the program. Currently, Liberty is ranked 18^th in the country according to the Penn Monto/NFHCA National Coaches Poll.
 
Series History
This is the 9^th matchup against Liberty, with a record of 1-7. This is the first regular season matchup against Liberty since 2015, where the Mountaineers were defeated 0-12.
 
Up Next
The Mountaineers will hit the road to face Miami on Friday. First touch in Oxford, Ohio Is slated for 2 p.m.