BOONE, N.C.  – Thanks to a dominant offensive performance, Appalachian State University field hockey wins their first match of the 2016 season rolling over LIU Brooklyn 8-1 on Sunday afternoon at the Carol Grotnes Belk Turf Field in Davidson, N.C. Four different Mountaineers put the ball in the net to catapult App State over the Blackbirds.

“Today was a great win for our team,” said head coach Meghan Dawson. “We got a lot of different people playing time which will continue to help our development for the future.”

Appalachian State (1-3) did not waste any time to attack the net and populate the board with goals. Ali Williams launched the first attack under five minutes in the game with a swift pass from Savanna Sheridan. 

The Blackbirds (0-2) took possession of the ball to continue play after the App State goal, but the ball was quickly stolen by the Mountaineers to set Melissa Nobile up for the next goal. In the 7th minute, Taylor Cimbalist charges into the circle and sends the perfect pass to Nobile to bring the score to 2-0. Eleven minutes later, Nobile would score again, this time tipping the ball into the net from a fantastic pass by freshman Danielle Gilmore to end the half up by three. 

In the second half, the Mountaineers continued to shower the board with goals and dominate every aspect of the game. In less than two minutes in the second period, Appalachian scored a pair of goals to further their lead to 6-0. Cimbalist received a cross pass and slammed the ball into the left corner and Nobile connected her third goal of the match smashing the ball over the right shoulder of the LIU goalie.

With 19 minutes left in the game and six goals above LIU, the Mountaineers continued to hover over the Blackbirds on their side of the pitch. In the 56th minute, Williams discovers an opening for her second goal of the afternoon jamming the ball into the right corner to up their advantage by seven. 

Making her senior debut, Micaela Diedericks fired App's final goal in minute 59 off of a rebounded shot to widen the Mountaineer-gap to 8-0.

App State was looking to end the match in a shutout, but LIU's Casey Carrigan ripped a shot off of goalkeeper Rachel Gaines that bounced into the net to score the Blackbird's only goal to end the match 8-1.

Offense

Appalachian State controlled all aspects of Sunday's match outshooting LIU 21-6 and striking 15 shots on goal to LIU's 4. Also, App edged out the Blackbirds in corner opportunities 6-5 and totaled six assists.

Defense

Gaines added an extra boost to the Mountaineer's magnificent performance by putting up a wall on the baseline to block any shot that came near the goal. Gaines swatted away three balls and stood in the net for 70:00 minutes.

Up Next

The Black and Gold will train for two weeks to prepare for their next match on Saturday, Sept. 17. App State will play Longwood back in Boone at the Brandon and Erica M Adcock Field at 5 p.m.