Mountaineers Face 49ers on Senior Day

OPENING KICK: Following a 5-0 victory over Wofford in its home opener, App State Soccer continues its three-game homestand with a matchup against the Charlotte 49ers on Sunday at 5 p.m. at The Valley. App State will host a senior day ceremony at 4:15 p.m. where it will recognize the careers of Stephanie Barbosa, Gracie Giacoletto, Mumu Guisasola, Skyler Walk, Sarah Widderich and Izzi Wood. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Shannon Studer and Kaytan Kroboth combined to score and assist on a pair of goals in the opening 15 minutes of play, as the Mountaineers sprinted past the Terriers 5-0 on Thursday. Kroboth's goal was the first of her career, while she and Studer each recorded a career-high three points in the match. Olivia Simon and Izzi Wood rounded out the Mountaineers' scoring, sandwiched around an own goal by Wofford in the 52^nd minute. App State out-shot Wofford 17-10, including 8-4 in shots on target, and held the majority of the possession in the contest. Sarah Wommack recorded four saves and a shutout for the second consecutive match.
 
2023 RECAP: App State is coming off a record-setting 2023 campaign. The team finished third in the Sun Belt standings, marking the best conference finish in program history. App State finished with a record of 9-6-3 overall and 6-2-2 in conference play, marking the most overall wins and most conference wins since 2018. The Mountaineers finished third among North Carolina programs with an RPI of 75, trailing only UNC and Duke. App State set program records for shutouts (8) and fewest goals allowed (16), while forward Izzi Wood was named second team All-Sun Belt, becoming the first Mountaineer to garner All-Conference recognition since 2018.
 
ABOUT CHARLOTTE: The 49ers enter Sunday's matchup 0-3 on the season, having fallen to UNCW, TCU, and No. 20 Mississippi State, all at home, to begin the year. Charlotte went 9-7-4 a season ago and 4-3-2 in their first season in the American Conference. Charlotte was picked fourth in this year's conference preseason poll and was one of three teams to garner a first-place vote. Forward Macey Bader (5 G, 6 A in 2023), forward Payton Patrick (5 G, 8 A in 2023) and goalkeeper Emma Wakeman (0.80 GAA, .845 SV% in 2023) all landed on the preseason All-Conference team.
 
SERIES HISTORY: App State and Charlotte have faced off six times in the head-to-head series with the 49ers winning all six meetings. The teams most recently met in 2019 with Charlotte claiming a 3-2 overtime win at Transamerica Field. After falling behind 2-0, Ava Dawson scored a pair of goals less than ten minutes apart for the Mountaineers in the second half to force the extra period. Kerry Eagleston recorded ten saves in the match.
 
INCREDIBLE IZZI: Graduate student Izzi Wood was named to the 2024 Sun Belt Preseason All-Conference team. Wood scored her first goal of the season on Thursday, heading home a corner kick service from Kyli Switalski. The goal was the 16^th of Wood's career, moving her into sole possession of ninth place on the all-time scoring list. Wood also ranks eighth in program history for shots with 151. Wood was named a second team All-Conference selection last season, becoming the first Mountaineer since 2018 to earn that distinction.
 
SQUEEKY CLEAN: App State has posted shutouts in back-to-back matches to begin the season for the second time in three years. The Mountaineers set the season record for shutouts with eight a year ago, after tying the previous record of seven in 2022. Aimee Haywood has now led her team to 17 clean sheets in 39 matches (44%) as head coach at App State. The team also allowed a record-low 16 goals on the year.
 
PROTECTING THE VALLEY: App State enters play Sunday riding an 11-game home unbeaten streak dating back to October 2022. The Mountaineers posted an unbeaten home season in 2023, going 6-0-2 at The Valley, and outscoring their opponents 14-2 in those matches. It marked the first unbeaten season at home since 2019, and the active streak is the longest in program history.
 
TAKE FIVE: App State's five-goal game against Wofford on Thursday tied the highest scoring output under head coach Aimee Haywood. App State also put up five goals in a 5-1 home victory over Marshall last year in Sun Belt play. The last time the Mountaineers scored at least five goals in a shutout came on Sept. 1, 2019, when they defeated UNC Asheville 6-0.
 
SUPER STUDER: Junior midfielder Shannon Studer scored the first goal of the season for the Mountaineers in the ninth minute of play against Wofford on Thursday. Studer then set up Kaytan Kroboth for the second goal of the match, giving her a three-point game for the first time in her career. Despite primarily playing defense the past two seasons, the Waxhaw, N.C. native registered four goals and five assists across her first two years in a Black and Gold uniform.
 
SETTLERS OF KAYTAN: Sophomore forward Kaytan Kroboth scored her first career goal in the 5-0 victory over Wofford on Thursday. Kroboth also recorded an assist on Shannon Studer's goal, collecting her first three-point match. Kroboth has started each of the first two matches for the Mountaineers this season, after coming off the bench in 17 matches as a freshman.
 
REACH FOR THE SKY: App State's back line is anchored by four-year starter Skyler Walk. The Charlotte, N.C. native has played nearly every minute of every game for App State and has totaled 5,035 minutes in her four years with the program and has played all 90 minutes in a game 50 times. She helped the team set records for shutouts and fewest goals allowed last season.
 
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.
 
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 round out its three-match homestand by hosting Longwood on Thursday at 6 p.m. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.