App State Visits Georgia Southern to Open Sun Belt Play

OPENING KICK: Following a nine-day hiatus, App State Soccer returns to action Sunday as the team opens conference play in Statesboro, Ga. against the Georgia Southern Eagles. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. and the match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
LAST TIME OUT: App State scored two second half goals just 24 seconds apart to close out non-conference play with its first road win, a 2-1 triumph over Florida Gulf Coast. Izzi Wood scored the first tally, her fourth of the season, while Ellie Garrison – who had assisted on Wood's marker – scored a goal of her own seconds later to finish with three points on the day. The Mountaineers finished the match with 12 shots and five shots on target. The victory snapped a three-game losing skid and helped the Mountaineers improve to 3-3-2 on the season.
 
ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN: The Eagles rounded out their non-conference slate with a 3-5-1 record and dropped their last two matches to Washington State and Samford in a pair of 1-0 decisions. The Eagles are 3-1-1 at home this season and are led by preseason All-Sun Belt selection Smith Cathey who has registered three goals and three assists to lead the team in both categories. Katie Oakley has started all eight matches in goal and boasts a 0.88 goals-against average and a .816 save percentage.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Dating back to their days as SoCon members, App State and Georgia Southern have faced off 38 times since App State launched its soccer program in 1994 – more meetings than the Black and Gold have played against any other opponent. The Eagles hold a narrow 19-18-1 advantage in the head-to-head series. Most recently App State picked up a 1-0 win in Boone in 2023. Izzi Wood scored the lone goal of the match less than two minutes into the second half, while Kerry Eagleston recorded six saves in the contest.
 
INCREDIBLE IZZI: Graduate student Izzi Wood notched her fourth goal of the season in the Mountaineers' 2-1 win at FGCU on Sept. 12. Wood sits in seventh place on the App State scoring list with 19 goals in her career.  Wood also ranks fourth all-time in shots with 178 and currently leads the Sun Belt with 35 shots and 19 shots on goal this season, while her four goals and seven points are tied for second and fourth in the league respectively. Wood ranks 18th in the nation averaging 4.38 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 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 three goals and tallied four assists this season, tolling 10 points in her first eight collegiate games. As conference play begins, she is two points away becoming the App State freshman point leader since the Mountaineers joined the Sun Belt Conference in 2014. Garrison is tied for the league lead in assists and ranks second in points this season.
 
SUPER STUDER: Junior defensive midfielder Shannon Studer has registered two goals and an assist across her first eight 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 Sept. 5. 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 55 times. She helped the team set records for shutouts and fewest goals allowed last season. Walk has helped account for 25 shutouts in her four seasons.
 
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 leads 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 1.63 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.
 
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.
 
UP NEXT: App State will continue its road trip with a stop in Lafayette, La. on Thursday to take on the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns. The Cajuns enter conference play 5-1-4 on the season with their lone loss coming against LSU. Thursday's match is set for 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast on ESPN+.