BOONE, N.C. — The App State field hockey team looks to finish the regular season on a high note, hosting Longwood on Friday at 4 p.m. for Senior Day, with MAC Tournament implications on the line.
App State (8-9, 4-4 MAC) sits in fifth place in the conference standings with 11 points, tied with Ohio (4-4 MAC). However, the Bobcats hold the tiebreaker advantage due to overtime wins and losses. Sitting behind the Mountaineers is Kent State (3-5 MAC) with 11 points, set to face Ohio on Friday at 3 p.m. Bellarmine holds seventh place with a 3-5 MAC record and eight points, with the Knights needing a regulation win over Ball State, along with regulation losses from Kent State and App State, to force a tie and move to the goal differential tiebreaker. App State owns a plus-one goal differential in conference play, while Kent State sits at minus-8 and Bellarmine at minus-17.
The Mountaineers are coming off consecutive losses, falling to James Madison 2-1 on Friday before hosting the ninth-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, falling 5-0 in the matchup.
Friday's contest carries MAC Tournament implications, as a win for the Mountaineers clinches a spot in the conference tournament, scheduled for Nov. 4–7 in Oxford, Ohio.
Friday's Matchup
· Who: App State vs. Longwood
· Where: Dr. Jan C. Watson Field at the Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field Hockey Complex // Boone, N.C.
· When: Friday, Oct. 30, 4 p.m.
Scouting the Mountaineers
The Mountaineers have been stout defensively outside of contests against ranked opponents, allowing only 11 goals through those 12 games while posting five shutouts, most recently in a 5-0 victory over CMU. Anchoring that defensive unit is two-time MAC Goalkeeper of the Week Anderson, who ranks second in the MAC in save percentage (0.776) and 10th nationally in the category.
App State has been relentless at home, holding a 6-2 record at Jan C. Watson Field, with its only losses coming against ranked ACC opponents in Wake Forest and UNC.
Newcomers have made a major impact on scoring for the Mountaineers, with freshman
Chloe Hook leading the team with eight goals this season. Michigan State transfer
Brynn Shaffer trails Hook with five goals, with both scoring against CMU and Kent State.
The Mountaineers retain key returners from the 2025 squad, led by four-time 2025 Defensive Player of the Week
Sophia Baxter, along with fellow team captains
Kassie Paul and
Calista Schwartz, a Vancouver, British Columbia, native and member of the FIH Junior World Cup roster.
App State has added impactful transfers to its 2026 roster, highlighted by Canadian National Team player and Vancouver native
Rylie Novak, who transferred from Iowa. Senior
Madie Baker, who saw action at Liberty, joins the team along with Shaffer, who appeared in 15 games last season while tying for third in goals, assists, and points for the Spartans. Hailing from Santa Rosa, Argentina, is
Amparo Figueroa, a junior forward transfer from Converse University who earned 2025 First-Team All-SAC honors after leading her team in goals (12), points (30), shots on goal (47), and game-winning goals (3) while finishing second with six assists.
The Mountaineers have also added five freshmen, headlined by sisters
Chloe Hook and
Morgan Hook, who both had standout careers at Penn Manor High School in Millersville, Pennsylvania. Joining them in the freshman class is fellow Pennsylvania native
Reagan Bailey from Dallastown Area High School, where she was named Offensive Player of the Year. The final two newcomers are
Jackie Kerner from Crofton, Maryland, where she won multiple state titles, and
Mai Hattori from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Scouting the Lancers
Longwood enters the matchup 0-15 (0-8 MAC), most recently falling 5-0 to Old Dominion on Sunday. The Lancers have been shut out eight times and have scored only eight goals this season. Longwood returns star goalkeeper Sophie Mooldijk, who leads the MAC in total saves with 226. Longwood is led by head coach Miranda Rigg, who is in her fifth year at the helm.
Series History
· vs. Longwood: This marks the 46th matchup between the Mountaineers and the Lancers, with App State trailing 14-31 in the series. The Mountaineers have come out on top in the last four meetings, including a 3-1 victory in Farmville, Va. in 2025, where Baxter found the back of the cage.
Up Next
With a win, the Mountaineers will gear up for the MAC Field Hockey Championship on the campus of Miami (Ohio) in Oxford, Ohio, with seeding to be determined following the final matches on Friday.
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