App State Soccer Hosts Marshall Sunday for Alumni Day

OPENING KICK: With three games remaining in the 2025 regular season, App State Soccer returns home for a critical East Division matchup with Marshall, Sunday at 1 p.m. App State enters the matchup three points behind the Herd in the standings, with only the top eight teams in the Sun Belt qualifying for the conference tournament. The team will honor its alumni in a halftime ceremony as part of the Homecoming weekend festivities. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: App State enters the match 5-6-3 on the season and 1-3-3 in Sun Belt play following a 3-2 loss at ULM last Saturday. Going against a Warhawks team with the longest unbeaten streak in the conference, the Mountaineers scored the game-tying goal in the 82nd minute of play, but ULM was able to put away the game-winning tally two minutes later. The Mountaineers have a favorable schedule down the stretch with their three remaining opponents posting a combined 3-12-6 record in Sun Belt play this season. App State is led by graduate forward Izzi Wood who is tied for the App State program record for career goals after netting her 30th career tally at Coastal Carolina on Oct. 2 for her fourth goal of the season. Ellie Garrison also has scored four goals this season, while Kyli Switalski and Olivia Simon have netted three goals apiece. The defense is anchored by freshman Maddie Williams who has started all 14 games for the Mountaineers and has played all 90 minutes a team-high 12 times. App State has posted back-to-back winning seasons in Sun Belt play and seven-plus win seasons overall.
 
SCOUTING THE THUNDERING HERD: Marshall enters Sunday's matchup with a record of 6-4-3 overall and 2-3-2 in Sun Belt play. The Thundering Herd have played back-to-back scoreless draws, at home against Old Dominion on Oct. 5 and at South Alabama on Oct. 10. Senior Bailey Fisher leads the team with seven goals on the season, while sophomore Fernanda Dantas has provided the team with eight helpers. Sophomore Emma Durand has started a team-high 10 games in goal this season, including each of the last three contests, and owns a 1.23 goals-against average and four shutouts on the year. Marshall was picked to finish 10th in the Sun Belt preseason poll and are under the direction of second-year head coach Rafa Simoes.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Sunday will mark the ninth all-time meeting between the Mountaineers and the Herd. Marshall leads the series 5-1-2. Last season the two teams played to a 1-1 draw in Huntington. When Marshall last visited Boone in 2023, the Mountaineers posted their most dominant win of the Aimee Haywood era, defeating Marshall 5-1 behind a hat-trick from Olivia Simon.
 
RISING TO THE OCCASION: Some of the Mountaineers' most complete efforts this season have come against its highest quality opposition. According to the Massey Ratings, App State is 2-1-2 this season against its five top-100 ranked opponents, including wins over Miami (77) and South Alabama (106) and a draws against James Madison (72) and Old Dominion (78). App State entered the week ranked 118 in RPI, which ranks eighth out of 14 teams in the Sun Belt. App State is 1-1-3 against the conference teams ranked ahead of them in RPI. Marshall is ranked 114th.

SIMON SAYS: Junior midfielder Olivia Simon has scored a goal in back-to-back games for the Mountaineers to give her three tallies on the season. Simon has now totaled nine goals and two assists in three seasons for App State. Simon's first career goal came against Marshall in 2023 as part of a second-half hat-trick against the Thundering Herd. Simon became one of 12 freshmen in the country to record a hat-trick that season and the first App State player to record a three-goal match since 2014.
 
ANCHORED BY MADDIE: Freshman Maddie Williams has been the anchor of the App State defense in her first season in Boone. The native of Birmingham, England joined the team as an early enrollee in the spring, and she is one of five players to play and start all 14 games this season. Williams leads the Mountaineers with 1,235 minutes played this season, including a team-high 12 90-minute efforts. She has led the back line to three shutouts this season.
 
UP NEXT: App State will play its final road contest of the season against Southern Miss on Friday, Oct. 24. Kickoff from Hattiesburg, Miss. is set for 4 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+. The Golden Eagles are 1-6 in Sun Belt play and visit Texas State on Saturday.