BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University field hockey will host two home games against the Lock Haven Bald Eagles on Friday, Oct. 7 at 7 p.m. under the lights and the Saint Francis University Red Flash on Sunday, Oct. 9 at noon. Seniors Jordan Van Cleave and Micaela Diedericks will be honored on Sunday's matchup between SFU.
App State (1-9) plans to build back some momentum after dropping a 4-1 decision to Davidson last Friday and falling to Pacific 6-2 this past Saturday. The Mountaineers saw goals from Melissa Nobile, Taylor Cimbalist, and Van Cleave. Both Nobile and Cimbalist collected their fifth goal of the season, and Van Cleave recorded her second.
In the bout against Pacific, goalkeeper Rachel Gaines eclipsed her former single-game high of 11 saves by rejecting 19 of the Tigers' shots. Her performance on Saturday ranks her a No. 3 in Div. I for the most saves recorded in a single-game.
Also, Appalachian continues to hold two positions in the national statistical rankings in total team defensive saves (No. 3) and in total defensive saves in a single-game (T-No. 1).
Bumping the Bald Eagles
The Lock Haven Bald Eagles are entering this weekend with an overall record of 6-4 and are 3-2 in the Atlantic-10 Conference. The Bald Eagles' key wins this season came from Sacred Heart, Towson, Siena, VCU, Richmond and Saint Louis.
As a group, Lock Haven has acquired 32 goals, 138 shots, 88 shots on goals, has dished out 24 assists and currently averages 3.20 goals scored per game.
The Bald Eagles have showered the net with eight goals in two of their bouts this season against Sacred Heart and Towson. In their match against Sacred Heart, Lock Haven toppled over the Pioneers 8-1 totaling 19 shots with 13 on goal. In their battle against Towson, the A-10 squad shut out the Tigers 8-0 recording a .769 shots on goal percentage.
Leading the offensive charge for the Bald Eagles are Michelle Enck and Dana-Lee De Gannes who both have collected five goals this year. Right behind them is Lydia George who leads the team in total points (14) and assists (6) and has smashed in four goals on 26 shots.
At net for Lock Haven is A-10 Player of the Week Paige Stuppy who has accumulated 38 saves in 683:46 minutes and owns a .745 save percentage.
Appalachian has only played Lock Haven twice in its history and the Bald Eagles have shut out the Mountaineers both times, 6-0 on Sept. 19, 2010 and 4-0 on Oct. 23, 2015.
Slowing Down the Red Flash
Saint Francis University owns an overall record of 7-5 and is 1-2 in the Atlantic-10 Conference. The Red Flash's sole A-10 victory came against Lock Haven on Sept. 30.
In their matchup between the Bald Eagles, SFU edged out their conference foe 2-1 to raise their winning streak to four-straight wins. Although Lock Haven held the advantage in shots (14-6), shots on goal (8-4) and in penalty corners (8-6), Shannon Pereira's second-period goal proved to be too much for the Bald Eagles, and SFU stole the match.
After 12 games, the Red Flash have garnered 21 goals, 133 shots, 93 shots on goal, 16 assist and average 1.75 goals scored per game.
The Mountaineers will have to counter the offensive threat of Brea Seabrook who leads the Flash in five team categories. Seabrook has gathered 11 points off of five goals, one assist, 31 shots with 21 on goal and has provided two game-winning goals to aid in their 7-5 record.
Protecting SFU's backfield is Elizabeth Dyer who has recorded 59 saves in 855:00 minutes and is responsible for a .747 save percentage.
Sunday will mark the sixth meeting between App State and SFU. The Red Flash hold the one-game advantage over the Mountaineers (3-2) due to a 7-0 victory in Pennsylvania on Oct. 25, 2015.
Quick Notes
In the last ten games, Nobile shares the lead in scoring with five goals and one game-winner against LIU Brooklyn ... Cimbalist leads the team in assists (4), shots (24), shots on goal (17) and shares the top with Nobile with five goals ... freshman Ali Williams has three goals in the last ten games ... Gaines has collected 73 saves and owns a .658 save percentage ... App State field hockey will enter into the Mid-American Conference in the fall of 2017 ... six starters return for the 2016 season including leading scorers Cimbalist (17 points), Diedericks (13 points) and Van Cleave (10 points) … last year the Mountaineers finished 4-13 in Independent play with key wins against Missouri State, La Salle, Saint Louis and Davidson …Record Book Watch: Cimbalist currently ranks second all-time in single-season assists (9) ... Rebecca McLean is now tied for fifth in single-season defensive saves with three ... Keighly Adams and Savanna Sheridan are tied at ninth with two defensive saves.
