STATESBORO, Ga. — Appalachian State University women's soccer came out of the gates on fire, but had to survive a second-half push from Georgia Southern to get the 3-2 victory on Sunday afternoon at Eagle Field.
“I'm very proud of the girls for getting the result on the road today,” head coach Sarah Strickland said. “Georgia Southern is a very good team and the parity of the Sun Belt has incredible this year so any team can win on any given day. It was a huge day for Jenn Bass as she scored the game winner after an amazing journey in our program.”
Strickland continued, “Every one of our girls has a story and they are all unique but for Jenn to overcome three ACL tears and another recent knee injury but persevere like she has is inspiring. Sharon Osterbind truly impacted the game today with an assist and a goal off the bench. Honestly the first half was incredible to watch and I'm so proud of the performance by so many of them. We look forward to this week and preparing for our final conference weekend at home.”
The Mountaineers (7-7-2, 2-4-2 Sun Belt) forced the issue offensively early, putting the Eagles (5-9-1, 2-6 Sun Belt) on their heels early. In the first half, App State outshot Georgia Southern 8-1, having a 6-1 advantage in corners as well.
Senior Jane Cline gave Appalachian the early lead, when she took a rocket forward pass from Sharon Osterbind and turned to fire a low-roller passed the Eagle goalkeeper in the 25th minute.
Just three minutes later, Osterbind was on the receiving end of a dime from a Jackie Nieradka corner that she headed in.
Coming out of halftime, Appalachian had to withstand an rejuvenated Eagle team that had five shots in the second half.
Despite the high-energy, the Mountaineers were able to put the game out of reach with the eventual game-winner from senior Jenn Bass who took a double assist from redshirt sophomore Erin Settle and Nieradka and lasered it to the upper-left corner.
Georgia Southern would find the back of the net as they refused to go away quietly with all Sun Belt teams battling hard to be a part of the top 8 teams that qualify for the tournament.
Rachel Hoekstra got a one-on-one opportunity in the 67th minute and was able to drive one home high, while Sarah Price made a move on the outside and was able to find the upright corner of the net, just out of reach of Appalachian's junior goalkeeper Sam Steyl.
Steyl played the entire 90 for App State and made three saves on the day.
Finishing Strong
Appalachian State once again exhibited a team-effort on the offensive end of the field, a staple of its wins this season. With the tournament on the line, the Mountaineers were able to find that rhythm again and will look to carry that through the final two games of the season after Sunday.
Cline led the team with four shots with two on goal, while Bass returned to the lineup after resting last week due to a lower-body injury to have two shots with one on goal.
Junior Kelly Flanders, Settle, senior Nieradka, redshirt sophomore Sarah Peatross, Osterbind, freshman Kristin Brown and freshman Maggie Hanusek all managed one shot with Osterbind, Flanders, Brown and Hanusek having theirs on goal.
Looking Forward
The Mountaineers return home to finish out the 2016 regular season when they host UL Lafayette on Friday, Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. App State then prepares to face first-ranked South Alabama in a rematch of the 2015 Sun Belt Tournament semifinals on Sunday, Oct. 23 at noon.
