On the Road Again: Texas State Soccer Heads For Appalachian State And Georgia Southern
The Mountaineers are 6-4-1 overall and the only other remaining undefeated team in the conference at 3-0-0 while the Eagles sport a 4-7-0 mark and 2-2-0 in the Sun Belt.
SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State soccer team plays the first two of its final three road matches this season this weekend.
First up is a trip to Appalachian State at 6 p.m. CDT on Friday followed by a 12 p.m. CDT kickoff at Georgia Southern on Sunday.
Entering the weekend, the Bobcats are 6-5-1 on the season and sit in first place in the Sun Belt Conference standings with a 4-0-1 record. The Mountaineers are 6-4-1 overall and the only other remaining undefeated team in the conference at 3-0-0 while the Eagles sport a 4-7-0 mark and 2-2-0 in the Sun Belt.
Last weekend saw TXST go 1-0-1 starting with a 1-1 draw against Little Rock before hanging on for a 2-1 victory over Arkansas State. The victory over the Red Wolves was the 200th in program history and head coach Kat Conner’s career.
Scoring all three goals for the Bobcats was Kaylee Davis, who was named the Sun Belt’s Offensive Player of the Week for the third time in a four-week span. She also tied the school record for consecutive matches with a goal at six.
For the season, Davis leads the conference with 10 goals and is tied for the eighth most in the nation. Her total is also tied for the eighth most in a single-season in Texas State history.
Pacing the team in assists with four is Jordan Kondikoff. The junior midfielder is also second on the squad with 18 shots and two goals. Mackenzie Smith enters the weekend with three assists on the year. Also being credited with two assists has been Kelly Barbalias, Renny Moore and Genesis Turman.
Goalkeeper Heather Martin has a 0.67 GAA, made 51 saves and sports a .895 save percentage, the 14th highest in the country. She earned her 20th career victory between the posts on Sunday to become the fourth Bobcat ever to reach the mark.
Scouting Appalachian State
Appalachian State is coming off a 2-0 win on Sunday at home over Coastal Carolina. The Mountaineers other two Sun Belt wins have been on the road against Georgia Southern (2-1) and Troy (3-2; 2OT).
When playing at home, APP is 4-2-0 this year with non-conference wins over Campbell, Gardner-Webb and South Carolina State and losses to North Florida and Radford. Enter the season, the Mountaineers were picked to finish eighth in the conference.
Blair Anderes and Kat Greer have scored a team-high three goals apiece. All three of Greer’s goals came against the Eagles and Trojans and earned her Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week honors. Coming in with two goals to their names are Ava Dawson, Maggie Hanusek and Molly Niewald.
Hanusek paces the squad with seven points and 18 shot attempts. She is also tied for the team lead of three assists with Jessica Easley, the reigning Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week.
Both Kristin Brown and Dawson have been credited with two assists each.
In goal, Ray Taylor has made nine appearances with eight starts. She has a 1.50 GAA with 25 saves and a .694 save percentage.
Lauren Burke has a 1.27 GAA, 16 saves and a .762 save percentage over five matches that includes three starts.
Series vs. Mountaineers
Texas State leads the all-time series against Appalachian State 2-1-1. Last season, the Bobcats won 4-0 in San Marcos for their biggest margin of victory in the series behind two goals from Davis. Also scoring in the contest were Rachel Grout and Alyssa Phelan.
TXST has not found the same success on the road against the Mountaineers with a 0-1-1 record. The last meeting in Boone, North Carolina was a 1-1 draw that saw Kassi Hormuth net the match tying goal exactly three minutes into the second half.
The first meeting in the mountains of North Carolina saw APP come away with a 5-0 victory and was the worst loss for TXST since joining the Sun Belt.
Scouting Georgia Southern
Georgia Southern split road matches last weekend with a 7-2 victory Friday against ULM before falling 2-0 at South Alabama. The Eagles’ first Sun Belt win was over Georgia State (2-0) on the road while they also lost to the Mountaineers at home.
GS is 2-3-0 in Statesboro, Georgia but are 1-4-0 this season when playing on Sunday’s. Prior to facing Texas State Sunday afternoon, the Eagles host Troy on Friday.
Both Frida Brattum and Maddi Klintworth have scored a team best three goals. Klintworth paces the squad with eight points and Brattum is second with seven.
Junique Rodriguez is the only player with multiple goals this season with two. She has placed a team-high 12 shots on goal and taken 20 shots, second most for a GS player.
Leading the Eagles with 25 shot attempts is Tyler Gordon. She also has two assists credited to her name along with Vala Theodorsdottir and Klintworth.
Jocelyn Springer has taken over in goal having made 10 appearances with nine starts. She has surrendered 15 goals in 888:34 minutes for a 1.52 GAA while making 51 saves for a .773 save percentage. Lauren Karinshak made two starts between the posts but has not played since Aug. 26 at Gardner-Webb.
Series vs. Eagles
Texas State holds a 2-1-1 series lead over Georgia Southern. The Bobcats took last year’s meeting 1-0 in San Marcos with the lone goal coming from Sydney Kammer on her birthday. When playing in Statesboro, TXST is 0-1-1 with the loss coming in the last match there on Sept. 25, 2016. The first contest between the programs was on Sept. 24, 2014 and ended in a 1-1 draw.
Live stats and video will be provided for both matches with links on the schedule page.
For the latest information on the Texas State soccer team, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, like on Facebook at Texas State Soccer and follow on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateSoccer.
Goals2Cure: https://pledgeit.org/goals2cure2018
APP Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=228395
APP Video: https://appstatesports.com/watch/?Live=225&type=Live
GS Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=220686&vislive=txst
GS Video: https://gseagles.com/watch/?Live=1476&type=Live
Match Notes: http://txstatebobcats.com/sports/2017/8/16/soccer-game-notes.aspx?path=wsoc
