WSOC opens regular season @ Elon Sunday @ 2 PM

[asu66]

Live Stats here... http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=55798

ELON VS. APPALACHIAN STATE: Sunday marks the 15th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and Mountaineers, who battled as league foes in the Southern Conference the previous 11 seasons. ASU leads the series, 7-5-2. The two teams battled to a 3-3 draw in last year's meeting on Sept. 29 in Boone, N.C. The last time the two squads met at Elon, the Phoenix dropped a 2-1 overtime decision on Sept. 23, 2012. Raychel Diver is the lone player on Elon's roster with a career goal against the Mountaineers.


BOONE, N.C. – Appalachian State University women's soccer opens up the 2014 regular season and its inaugural season in the Sun Belt Conference on the road at Elon on Sunday. Kick off is set for 2 p.m.

The Mountaineers played two exhibition games in preparation for the fall schedule. Last Saturday the Apps tied High Point 1-1 in the final preseason game.

App State is coming off of a 8-7-4 overall record in 2013, including a 4-2-4 mark in its final year in the Southern Conference. Appalachian fell to Samford in the opening round of the conference tournament 1-0.

Head coach Sarah Strickland enters her fifth season at the helm of the Mountaineers and looks to take her team to the next level in its first year in the Sun Belt. She also brings back fourth-year assistant coach Lindsey Morgan and 10th-year assistant coach in charge of goalkeepers, Lindsay Cobb.

Appalachian was projected to finish fifth in the league in the annual Sun Belt preseason coaches poll.

The 2014 Mountaineers will carry 10 seniors this fall. The senior class is highlighted by 2013 SoCon second-team all-league selection Julia Holz. The Marietta, Ga. native scored seven goals and tallied six assists last season to finished tied with teammate Sam Childress with 20 points.

Eight juniors will make their return to the pitch for Strickland's squad, which is highlighted by starting goalkeeper Megan Roberson and Childress, who earned second team all-league honors a year ago. Roberson played nearly 1,500 minutes in net and finished with a 1.29 goals against average and made 62 saves, while winning six games.

Childress led the Mountaineers in scoring with 10 goals, which included back-to-back game winners on the road against both Georgia Southern and Davidson. The goal against Davidson came in overtime.

While Appalachian's sophomore class is small in numbers with just four players, it contains some of the team's top playmakers.. Included in the group are both SoCon all-freshman team selections, Jane Cline and Jackie Nieradka. Cline finished with four goals and five assists in her freshman campaign, while Nieradka played excellent back line defense and contributed two assists.

Strickland and the Mountaineers welcome not only 11 freshman to Boone this season, but also six teams who will compete against App State for the first time in program history. Of the seven home dates at Appalachian Soccer Stadium – matches against Liberty, George Mason and Sun Belt members, Troy, South Alabama, UL Lafayette and UL Monroe will be first-time meetings.

[McLeansvilleAppFan]

We win!

I guess this is the first official non exhibition competition for us in the SB. Good way to start.

http://www.appstatesports.com/fls/21500 ... 4/app1.htm

[hapapp]

A goal and assist from Lindsay Tully, a freshman. Erin Settle, another freshman, put in a goal. Junior Merlin Beckwith garnered two goals. Nice start for the women!