BOONE, N.C. – In the 79th minute of a scoreless match, App State Soccer's Walker Bristow dribbled toward the top of the box and fed a through ball ahead to Ellie Garrison, who was taken down by a Miami defender on her way to the net. After replay review, the referees awarded Garrison a penalty kick.
The sophomore calmly stepped to the dot and buried a shot into the bottom-right corner of the net. Eleven minutes later, her App State teammates sprinted onto the field in jubilation, having posted a signature 1-0 victory over the Miami Hurricanes – the program's first win over a Power Five opponent since 2016.
"I'm so proud of our team, our players, just an absolute tough-as-nails performance," head coach Aimee Haywood said. "I'm over the moon about our players' performance today."
Four seasons ago, as Haywood embarked on her first year at App State, the Mountaineers were picked 13th out of 14 teams in the Sun Belt preseason poll. Her squad finished that season seventh in the league and followed with a program-best third-place finish in 2023. Last season, the Mountaineers opened the campaign with a scoreless draw against NC State.
Sunday's win was historic – the first in program history against an ACC opponent.
"This has definitely been a four-year build for us, and we've done it really intentionally, developing the players that we have here," Haywood added. "I think it says a lot about the App State brand to get a team [like Miami] to come up here and play us."
Despite being outshot for the game, the Mountaineers had the more quality scoring chances. In addition to the penalty-kick goal – Garrison's third tally of the week – junior Olivia Simon narrowly missed a goal midway through the second half when her shot was saved by Miami goalkeeper Atlee Olofson and then deflected off the far post.
Defensively, the Mountaineers were stout. Anna Claire Jacobi posted her first career shutout, registering six saves, highlighted by a diving effort with 18 minutes left to keep the contest scoreless.
Center backs Sydney Snowden and Maddie Williams kept the Black and Gold organized in front of Jacobi, playing all 90 minutes.
Offensively, Garrison and Simon accounted for all five App State shots.
The Mountaineers are 2-0 for the first time since 2016 and look to continue their hot start Thursday when they host Davidson in Boone. First touch is set for 6 p.m., and the match will stream on ESPN+.
