BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University field hockey will hit the road to face off against future Mid-American Conference foe Miami University on Friday, Oct. 21 at the Miami Field Hockey Complex at 4:30 p.m. The Mountaineers (1-11) look to grab their first road victory in Oxford, Ohio this Friday.
Last time on the turf, App State fell to Saint Francis 6-0 at home on Sunday, Oct. 9. The Red Flash dominated the offensive stats with 11 shots and seven shots on goal and received nine penalty corners, while the Mountaineers collected eight shots, five shots on goal and five penalty opportunities.
In the statistical rankings, Rachel Gaines' performance against Pacific on Oct. 1 still holds steady at third on the singe-game highs list for saves (19). Also, the defense remains tied for first with four defensive saves in a single game on the single-game highs list.
Downing the Redhawks
The Miami University Redhawks are 8-7 on the season and 3-1 in the Mid-American Conference. The Redhawks are coming off of a two-game losing streak against Kent State and No. 4 North Carolina where Miami (OH) was shut out by UNC 6-0 and fell to Kent State 2-1 in overtime.
One of the Redhawks' most prolific wins came against Saint Louis early in the season where Paula Portugal scored a school record of five goals to quiet Saint Louis 9-0. Portugal's performance against the Billikens ranks second in the national statistical rankings for the most goals scored in a single game, and ties for the most points scored in a single match.
As a group, the Redhawks have accumulated 37 goals, 240 shots,130 shots on goal, 30 assists and has made 64 saves. Miami (OH) averages 2.47 goals scored per game and has shut out five of their opponents.
The Mountaineers will have to prepare to counter the offensive attack of Paula Portugal and Geagy Pritchard. Portugal has smacked in 12 goals, 72 shots, 36 shots on goal and has provided two game-winning goals. Geagy has racked up seven goals, 24 shots with 14 to target. In addition to those two, Appalachian will need to keep an eye out for Carla Romagosa who is the Redhawks' key playmaker dishing out ten assists on the season.
Protecting Miami University's cage is goalkeeper Alysa Xavier who has garnered 63 saves in 1090:43 minutes.
Appalachian will play its 14th match against Miami (OH) on Friday, and the Redhawks own a five-game advantage over the Mountaineers (9-4). In the last match between the two squads, the Redhawks rolled over Appalachian 10-1 on Sept. 20, 2014.
Quick Notes
In the last twelve games, Melissa Nobile shares the lead in scoring with five goals and one game-winner against LIU Brooklyn ... Taylor Cimbalist leads the team in assists (4), shots (29), shots on goal (21) and shares the top with Nobile with five goals ... freshman Ali Williams has three goals in the last twelve games ... Gaines has collected 82 saves and owns a .636 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), Micaela Diedericks (13 points) and Jordan 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 tied for fifth in single-season defensive saves with three ... Keighly Adams and Savanna Sheridan are tied at ninth with two defensive saves.
