OPENING KICK: App State Soccer takes aim at a third consecutive seven-win season when the team squares off with Georgia Southern on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at The Valley. The contest will feature a pizza giveaway for students and a halftime Halloween costume contest. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: App State enters the match 6-7-3 on the season and 2-4-3 in Sun Belt play following a 2-1 victory over Southern Miss.
Izzi Wood scored the game-winning goal in the 56th minute of play to set the App State all-time scoring record with her 31st career tally.
Libby Bermingham opened the scoring with her first career goal. Wood leads the Mountaineers with five goals this season, including three game-winners, while
Ellie Garrison has scored four goals, three of which have been game-winners. The defense is anchored by freshman
Maddie Williams who has started all 16 games for the Mountaineers and has played all 90 minutes a team-high 14 times.
SCOUTING THE EAGLES: Georgia Southern enters the finale 2-9-6 overall and 0-4-5 in Sun Belt play. After beginning the season 2-1, the Eagles have not registered a win since the month of August. They are coming off back-to-back 2-2 draws against Coastal Carolina and ULM. They have been outscored 30-17 this season. Senior forward Bri Conley leads the Eagles with four goals and two assists on the season, while junior midfielder Addison Comer has also scored four times. Three different goalkeepers have started at least three games for the Eagles this season, with Quinn Wilson getting the not in each of the last two outings.
SERIES HISTORY: App State and Georgia Southern are meeting for the 40th time in program history, dating back to the 1994 inaugural season when the program earned its first ever victory against the Eagles (1-0). Most recently, App State won the 2024 meeting 2-1 in Statesboro with
Ellie Garrison and
Izzi Wood each scoring a goal within the first 12 minutes of the match. Wood also scored the lone goal in the Mountaineers' 1-0 win in Boone in 2023.
LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN: A win on Wednesday would give the Mountaineers at least seven wins for the third consecutive season. The last time App State Soccer won at least seven games in three straight years was 2014-2016, the team's first three seasons in the Sun Belt Conference.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: App State holds an RPI of 122 this season, a 36-spot improvement from where they finished last year. The Mountaineers have played a challenging schedule in both non-conference and Sun Belt play. App State has faced five of the top-six RPI teams in the Sun Belt going 1-2-2 in those contests with a win over South Alabama (49) and draws against Old Dominion (61) and James Madison (57). App State also defeated Miami (68) and played a road contest at Clemson (23).
PROTECTING THE VALLEY: In
Aimee Haywood's tenure, the Mountaineers have been stout at home, compiling a record of 17-8-7 (.640), and outscoring their opponents 46-28 at The Valley over that span. The Mountaineers posted a program-best 13-match unbeaten streak from Oct. 14, 2022, through Aug. 29, 2024.
