App State soccer traveled to Norfolk, Virginia on Friday for a matchup with Old Dominion. The Mountaineers were defeated 1-0 after a flurry of late scoring opportunities.
Old Dominion went into the match sitting atop the Sun Belt east division with a conference record of 4-1-1, an overall record of 9-1-3 and a four-game win streak. App State entered with an overall record of 6-4-3 and sits in third place in the east division with a conference record of 3-1-2. The Mountaineers entered the match knowing a win would draw them even with the Monarchs atop the division with identical conference records.
This was the third ever contest between the two teams, with App State picking up the win 1-0 last year in Boone.
App State’s offense looked to attack early in applying consistent pressure on Old Dominion’s backfield. The Black and Gold generated five shots on goal throughout the first half, three coming off the foot of junior forward Stephanie Barbosa. App State prevented ODU from finding any type of offensive rhythm throughout the half, holding the Monarchs to one shot on goal, which was saved by graduate student goalkeeper Kerry Eagleston in the 22nd minute.
The second half saw Old Dominion break the scoreless tie with a shot sailing out of Eagleston’s reach and into the top right corner of the net giving the Monarch’s a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute.
The Black and Gold needed a late spark as their offensive pressure had slowed down, and the second half produced only two App State shots entering the 80th minute.
With the deficit still at 1-0, Barbosa found senior forward Izzi Wood for a scoring look inside the 6-yard box, but her redirect attempt was deflected off the goalpost and cleared by ODU. The late surge continued on App State’s following possession, freshman midfielder Olivia Simon settled a loose ball and torched a shot from well behind the penalty area, which was tapped over the top of the net by the Monarch goalkeeper.
The Mountaineers were unable to produce another scoring opportunity and lost the match by a final of 1-0.
The Black and Gold fell to 6-5-3 on the season. Although the result was not in App State’s favor, they proved they can push a powerhouse team such as ODU to the brink.
The Mountaineers return to Boone Thursday for a match with Southern Miss at 6 p.m. The match can be streamed on ESPN+.
