App State Soccer Hosts Louisiana Sunday

OPENING KICK: Following a pair of road matches to begin Sun Belt play, App State Soccer returns to The Valley on Sunday to take on Louisiana in its first home match of the conference season. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
 
SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS: App State is 4-3-1 on the season and 0-1-1 in Sun Belt play after a 1-0 loss at Georgia State on Tuesday. After allowing a goal just 71 seconds into the match, App State generated numerous scoring chances, including several in the closing minutes of regulation, but could not find the back of the net. The Mountaineers matched their season-high with 14 shots and earned five corner kicks on the night. Ellie Garrison leads App State with four goals on the year, while Izzi Wood has scored a pair and her 28 career goals are just two behind the Casey Cleary for the most all-time. Defensively, the Mountaineers are led by freshman Maddie Williams who leads the team in minutes and has helped the defense to a pair of shutouts. The Mountaineers are aiming to put together their third straight winning season in Sun Belt play and are coming off back-to-back seven-win seasons overall.
 
SCOUTING THE RAGIN' CAJUNS: Louisiana enters the contest 3-4-2 overall and 0-1-1 in Sun Belt play. Following a 3-0 loss to South Alabama to open the conference slate, the Cajuns battled to a 1-1 draw against Arkansas State on Thursday, benefitting from an own goal that tied the score in the opening minute of the second half. Salma Elhaimer (five points) leads a balanced Cajun attack that has seen eight different goal scorers account for the team's 12 tallies this season. Natalie Mayes has played every minute of every game in goal for Louisiana, posting a 1.22 goals-against average and a pair of shutouts. The Cajuns are looking for their first winning season since 2020. They were picked 11th in the Sun Belt preseason poll.
 
SERIES HISTORY: Sunday will be the 11th all-time meeting between App State and Louisiana, with the Mountaineers holding a 10-2 lead in the head-to-head series. App State picked up a 1-0 road win over the Cajuns last season, with Izzi Wood breaking a scoreless deadlock in the 84th minute after receiving a clearance from Sydney Snowden.
 
SBC HOME OPENERS: App State is 2-0-1 in Sun Belt home openers under head coach Aimee Haywood. Last season the team battled to a 1-1 draw against Georgia State in a game played in Charlotte due to Hurricane Helene (App State also tied Coastal Carolina 2-2 in the first SBC game played in Boone). The Mountaineers defeated Troy 1-0 in 2023 and took down ULM 1-0 in 2022 in a game in which App State played a player down for much of the match.

PROTECTING THE VALLEY: In Aimee Haywood's three seasons at the helm, the Mountaineers have been stout at home, compiling a record of 16-6-6 (.679), and outscoring their opponents 44-24 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: Defenders Maddie Williams and Morgan Chapman have quickly assumed starting roles for the Mountaineers early on in their freshman campaigns. Williams has played all but two minutes this season, starting all seven games at center back, while Champman has earned a start in each of the four three games and has played all 90 minutes in each of those contests. Freshman Lucy Harrington also earned a start along the back line and has played in six of the team's first six matches this season. Redshirt freshman Anna Claire Jacobi has started seven matches in goal and played in all nine matches overall, while true freshman Hanna Skogsfors has started (and played the first half) of each of the first two Sun Belt games after playing in relief in each of the three matches prior.
 
UP NEXT: The Mountaineers will host South Alabama on Friday at 6 p.m. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+. The Jaguars are 6-2-0 overall and 2-0 in Sun Belt play this season and have won at least 10 games in six consecutive campaigns, including four NCAA tournament appearances.