App State Soccer Hosts James Madison on Sunday

OPENING KICK: App State Soccer looks to climb in the Sun Belt East standings when the team hosts James Madison on Sunday at 1 p.m. at The Valley. The Dukes lead the division with seven points against east division foes, while App State won their most recent home match against South Alabama on Sept. 26 and followed it up by earning a point on the road against Coastal Carolina on Thursday. The Mountaineers will wear pink jerseys on Sunday in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: App State enters the match 5-5-2 on the season and 1-2-2 in Sun Belt play following a 1-1 draw against Coastal Carolina on Thursday in Conway, S.C. Izzi Wood netted her 30^th career goal to tie Casey Cleary for the program's scoring record. Wood has scored four goals on the season (all in the last six games) and is tied with Ellie Garrison for the team lead. Garrison scored her four goals in the first three matches of the season. Redshirt sophomore Kyli Switalski has added a trio of goals for App State, two of which have come off of set pieces. The defense is anchored by freshman Maddie Williams who has started each of the 12 games for the Mountaineers and has played all 90 minutes a team-high ten times. Fellow freshmen Morgan Chapman and Lucy Harrington have also earned starting roles on the back line. App State has posted back-to-back winning seasons in Sun Belt play and seven-plus win seasons overall.
 
SCOUTING THE DUKES: James Madison enters Sunday's contest with a record of 6-3-4 overall and 2-1-2 in league play. The Dukes made headlines in non-conference play when they posted a 3-0 win over NC State to open the season and followed it up with a 1-1 draw against No. 9 Penn State and a 1-0 win against Maryland. The Dukes are riding a three match unbeaten streak, outscoring their opponents 9-2 over that span. The Dukes have registered 29 assists on their 25 goals this season which ranks 20th nationally in terms of helpers. JMU was picked to win the Sun Belt in the preseason, collecting nine of the 14 first place votes. Ginny Lackey was named the Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year after being named the Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and Player of the year a season ago. She leads the team with seven goals and five assists so far this season. JMU is looking to repeat as Sun Belt tournament champs after defeating Texas State in the 2024 title game in Foley, Ala.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Sunday will mark the sixth all-time meeting between App State and James Madison. The Dukes lead the head-to-head series 4-0-1, including a 3-0 win last year in Harrisonburg, Va. and an overtime win in the Sun Belt tournament in 2023. The Mountaineers earned a thrilling 1-1 draw the last time the two teams met in Boone, with Summer Bowman netting the equalizer with in the 89th minute of regulation.
 
PERFECT FROM THE DOT: App State has gone a perfect 4-4 on penalty kicks this season, including game-winning goals against Miami and South Alabama in a pair of 1-0 victories this season. App State is one of six teams in the country (Bellarmine, Detroit Mercy, Florida, Georgetown, Oklahoma) to have made four penalty kicks this season without a miss. Ellie Garrison (2/2) and Izzi Wood (2/2) have accounted for all four makes.

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 2-1-1 this season against its four highest ranked opponents, including wins over Miami (70) and South Alabama (117) and a draw at Old Dominion (73). James Madison (69) is the second toughest opponent on paper that App State will face this season, trailing only Clemson (46) on the schedule.
 
INCREDIBLE IZZI: Graduate student Izzi Wood scored her 30th career goal in Thursday's 1-1 draw at Coastal Carolina. Wood tied Casey Cleary ('05-'08) for most goals scored in App State Soccer history. She has now scored a goal in back-to-back games and has scored four goals in her last six outings. The sixth-year standout has played 82 matches across five seasons – the third-most in program history – despite missing the 2021 campaign due to injury. Wood is coming off a career-high 11 goals in 2024, which matched the single-season program record.

PROTECTING THE VALLEY: In Aimee Haywood's three seasons at the helm, the Mountaineers have been stout at home, compiling a record of 17-7-6 (.667), and outscoring their opponents 45-25 at The Valley over that span. The Mountaineers posted a program-best 13-match unbeaten streak from Oct. 14, 2022, through Aug. 29, 2024.
 
A FRESH(MEN) START: 11 of App State's 27 players this season are freshmen or redshirt freshmen (9 more are sophomores or redshirt sophomores) with many earning prominent roles early on in their careers in Boone.
 
UP NEXT: App State will travel to ULM for an 8 p.m. ET kickoff next Saturday. The Warhawks are 7-2-3 this season and 2-0-3 in Sun Belt play. They face Southern Miss on the road on Sunday.