App State Closes Non-Conference Play at FGCU

OPENING KICK: App State Soccer hits the road to Fort Myers, Fla., where the team will close out non-conference play in a matchup with the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles on Thursday at 7 p.m. It marks the second road game in a four-match stretch away from The Valley.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Despite being locked in a 1-1 tie at halftime at Davidson, the Wildcats scored three unanswered goals in the final 45 minutes of play to come away with a 4-1 win. Olivia Simon scored the lone goal for App State, her second of the season. Gracie Giacoletto and Lauren Smith each registered their first start of the season and played all 90 minutes in the contest for the Black and Gold. App State outshot the Wildcats 11-10 overall and 6-4 in shots on goal, but Davidson was able to finish each of their shots on target. 
 
ABOUT FGCU: The Eagles will enter the match having not played for ten days, after their match against FAU on Thursday was postponed due to inclement weather. The Eagles began the season with three consecutive losses but were able to get in the win column for the first time on Sept. 1 with a 4-1 victory at DePaul. The team has been outshot 82-26 this season. Ashley Labbe leads the Eagles on offense with three goals and one assist, while Katharina Oelschlaeger has accounted for the other two goals on the campaign. Olivia Molina has started all four matches in goal and has made 40 saves in four matches for a .800 save percentage. FGCU is coming off a NCAA tournament appearance in 2023, defeating North Alabama on penalty kicks in the ASUN Championship, following a 7-1-3 regular season, which was tied for second in the league.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The meeting between App State and FGCU will mark the second head-to-head matchup in program history. The only other meeting was a 3-0 App State victory in Boone last season. Izzi Wood, Lela Stark and Reagan Sturgill all netted goals for the Mountaineers in the contest, while the Mountaineers outshot the Eagles 20-3 and 10-1 in shots on goal.
 
INCREDIBLE IZZI: Graduate student Izzi Wood notched two goals in the Mountaineers loss to Radford on Sept. 5. The brace was the second of Wood's career, with the other also coming at home against the Highlanders in 2022. Wood now as three goals on the season and 18 in her App State career, moving her into a tie with Allison Osborne (1995-98) for seventh on the all-time scoring list. Wood also ranks fourth all-time in shots with 174. She currently leads the Sun Belt with 31 shots and 16 shots on goal this season, while her three goals and seven points are tied for fourth and eighth in the league respectively. Wood ranks 15th in the nation averaging 4.43 shots-per-game. 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 was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 3, following a pair of goals in the Mountaineers 2-0 win over Longwood on Aug. 29. Garrison then assisted on both App State goals on Sept. 5 against Radford and now has totaled seven points in her first seven collegiate games. Garrison is tied for the conference lead with three assists and is in a tie for eighth in the Sun Belt with seven points. Garrison joins the Mountaineers after posting one of the best high school careers in North Carolina state history. Competing for Wheatmore High School, Garrison set the state record with 230 goals in her four-year career, including a state-record 96 as a senior, and was the recipient of the North Carolina Golden Boot award in 2023.
 
SUPER STUDER: Junior defensive midfielder Shannon Studer has registered two goals and an assist across her first seven matches of the season. Studer scored the first goal of the season for the Mountaineers in the ninth minute of play against Wofford on August 22. 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. Against Charlotte on Aug. 29, Studer began a nice passing sequence which culminated with her going top shelf for the finish – assisted by Stephanie Barbosa and Ellie Garrison. Studer has recorded 18 points in 44 matches in her three-year career, despite playing defense and defensive midfield for the Black and Gold.
 
SIMON SAYS: Sophomore midfielder Olivia Simon scored the Mountaineers' lone goal in their loss at Davidson on Sunday. The goal was Simon's second of the season and sixth in two seasons with App State. Three of Simon's four goals last season came as part of a second-half hat-trick against Marshall. She finished the season as one of 12 freshmen in the country to record a hat-trick and the first App State player to record a three-goal match since 2014.
 
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 over 5,400 minutes in her four years with the program and has played all 90 minutes in a game 54 times. She helped the team set records for shutouts and fewest goals allowed last season.
 
FRESH FACES: App State has seen eight 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 is tied for the team lead in points, while pacing the Black and Gold with three assists. Redshirt freshman Sarah Wommack has played every minute in goal this season.
 
BACK ON TRACK: App State will look to rebound from a three-game losing skid, which is the team's longest losing streak since dropping four in a row from Sept. 25 – Oct. 9, 2022. Over the current slide App State has conceded 11 goals, compared to allowing just one goal in its first four matches of the season (2-0-2). App State conceded a program-low 16 goals total last season. That said, the offense has seen an uptick this season, averaging 1.57 goals-per-game which is better than any mark to finish a season since averaging 1.79 goals-per-game in 2013.
 
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.
 
TAKE FIVE: App State's five-goal game against Wofford on Aug. 22 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
UP NEXT: App State will open conference play on the road on Sept. 22 when it heads to Statesboro, Ga. for a matchup with Georgia Southern. The Eagles currently sit 3-3-1 in non-conference play and finished 2023 at 7-3 in league play to pace the Sun Belt East Division. App State earned a 1-0 win over the Eagles last year in Boone.