App State women’s soccer brought their season record to 3-4 after splitting two home games last weekend.
The Mountaineers defeated the Belmont Bruins 4-1 Sept. 12 and lost 2-0 against George Mason Patriots on Sept. 14 after falling behind early.
Junior goalkeeper Meg Roberson said the weekend games proved the Mountaineers need to score first to be consistently successful.
“We definitely need to get the first goal,” Roberson said. “Once we get the first goal we have a ton of momentum and I think that’s key for our team.”
The Mountaineers took 11 shots but were shutout against the Patriots. They did manage to take 14 shots and score four goals against the Bruins.
“I think we just need to be confident in our ability to keep the ball because when we keep it, we’re a great team,” freshman midfielder Kelly Flanders said. “We have the ability to dominate a better team and play our style rather than playing into theirs.”
Flanders was the only player for the Mountaineers to play the full 90 minutes in both weekend games.
Head coach Sarah Strickland said that George Mason’s ability to score the first goal hurt the Mountaineers morale. Like Roberson, Strickland saw App State deflate after the first goal was scored against the Patriots.
“I thought we showed less energy and lower work rate than what we normally do,” Strickland said. “We’re usually a very good Sunday team, but we’ll rebound.”
The Mountaineers are back in action against James Madison on Friday. The Mountaineers will not play another home game until they host Troy University on Oct. 10.
Story: Jess Lyons, Sports Reporter