Mountaineers Host Chanticleers in Sun Belt Tilt

OPENING KICK: App State Soccer returns home Thursday to host Coastal Carolina at 3 p.m. at The Valley. The contest will be the first App State home event in Boone since Hurricane Helene's arrival on Sept. 27 and marks the first home soccer contest since Sept. 5. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Kyli Switalski scored her first career goal as the equalizer in the 73^rd minute to help the Mountaineers earn a 1-1 draw with Georgia State on Friday, in a contest that was played in Charlotte. App State appeared to score the game winning goal with just three minutes remaining, but the tally was nullified by a foul called on the play. The Mountaineers sit at 5-3-3 and 2-0-1 in Sun Belt play. They are currently on a four-match unbeaten streak and entering this week's action are one of just three remaining unbeaten teams in the conference.
 
ABOUT COASTAL CAROLINA: The Chanticleers enter Thursday's match with a 5-4-4 record overall and a 1-1-2 mark in Sun Belt play. Most recently Coastal came away with a 1-1 draw on Sunday against Southern Miss. A defensive minded team, the Chanticleers are averaging just one goal-per-game this season, despite their winning record and have scored more than two goals in a game just once this year. The Chanticleers are led by redshirt sophomore Tamlyn Parkes, who has accounted for five goals and three assists on the campaign, while freshman Eleanor Ashton has added four goals and two assists. Aris Lamanna has started the last two games in goal for Coastal and has recorded 10 saves while allowing just two goals across the two contests.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Thursday's match will represent the 16th meeting between the two programs, with the Chanticleers leading the all-time series 7-5-3. The two teams battled to a 1-1 draw last season in Conway, with Summer Bowman scoring the game-tying goal for the Mountaineers with just seven minutes to play in regulation.
 
INCREDIBLE IZZI: Graduate student Izzi Wood notched her sixth goal of the season in the Mountaineers' 1-0 win at Louisiana on Sept. 26 and has tallied five goals across her last six games. Wood now sits in sixth place on the App State scoring list with 21 goals in her career. She also ranks fourth all-time in shots with 192 and seventh in points with 48. Wood leads the Sun Belt in shots (44) and shots on goal (24) and is tied for the conference lead with three game-winning goals. She also ranks second in the Sun Belt in points (13) and is tied for second in goals (6). Wood also ranks in the top 20 nationally for shots and shots on goal per-game and game-winning 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 four assists this season, tolling 12 points in her first 11 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 and ranks fourth in points.
 
A HELPING HAND: App State has registered 15 assists on its 17 goals this season, with nine different players collecting at least one helper. App State ranks fifth in the Sun Belt in scoring and fourth in assists this season.
 
PROTECTING THE VALLEY: In Aimee Haywood's three seasons at the helm, the Mountaineers have been stout at home, compiling a record of 13-3-5 (.738), and outscoring their opponents 36-16 at The Valley over that span. The Mountaineers' loss to Radford on Thursday marked their first setback at home since October 2022, snapping a 13-match home unbeaten streak – the longest in program history.
                                                                                     
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 four assists. Redshirt freshman Sarah Wommack has played every minute in goal this season. In total, the Mountaineers have played 22 players this season.
 
FINDING THE NET: The App State offense has seen an uptick in production this season, averaging 1.55 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 20-18-10 in three years at App State, Haywood boasts the best winning percentage of any coach in program history.
 
PRESEASON PROJECTIONS: App State earned a first-place vote and was tied for sixth in the 2024 Sun Belt Coaches Poll. It marks the first time since joining the league that the Mountaineers have garnered a first-place vote and represents the highest predicted finish since 2017.
 
UP NEXT: App State will head to Marshall for a Sunday matchup with the Thundering Herd. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+. The Herd enter the week 3-5-2 on the season and 1-2-1 in Sun Belt play.