Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis will play its home opener at DeGol Field on Friday, September 13 at 3 pm against the Appalachian State Mountaineers. This will be the only home game of the weekend, as the Red Flash then travels to Oxford, Ohio for a Sunday matchup against Miami (OH).
Scouting Appalachian State
The Mountaineers field hockey team is off to a hot start at 4-0, three of which have been shutouts. In the four wins, Appalachian State has outscored opponents 10-2. The Mountaineers have also outshot their opponents 45-34 (31-20 SOG), and are dominating the competition in assists (8-1). They have succeeded thus far in sharing the ball and distributing the scoring.
In the first four matches, the Mountaineers have seen nine different point scorers and five goal scorers. Junior Meghan Smart has five of the 10 goals for a total of 10 points, the most on the team. Seven of the nine point-scorers have registered at least one assist. The depth Appalachian State has shown is one of the reasons it cracked the top-25 in goals per game, assists per game and scoring average to start the young season.
On defense, goalkeeper Rachel Gaines is consistently giving Appalachian State quality starts. With a save percentage of .895, she ranks second in the country. She also ranks third in Goals Against Average (.5).
To defeat the Mountaineers, Saint Francis must get shots to the net and control possession time to prevent Appalachian State from reaching their 2.5 goals per game average.
Series History: Saint Francis leads 5-0
This will be the sixth matchup between the Red Flash and the Mountaineers. Last season, Saint Francis took home a win on the road, 3-2, in Boone, NC. In the series, Saint Francis is outscoring Appalachian State 25-5. This will be just the second match at DeGol Field: the first was a 7-0 Red Flash victory. Saint Francis will look to extend the series winning streak to pick up its first win of the season in the home opener.
Scouting Miami (OH)
After traveling to East Lansing to take on Michigan State on Friday, Miami will return home to host the Red Flash on Sunday at 2:00 pm. Miami is off to a 2-2 start to the year, but is on a two-game winning streak going into the weekend. Their two losses have come to two ranked teams in #22 Albany (2-0) and #16 Delaware (2-1). After these two losses, the RedHawks found their offense and have outscored opponents 8-2 for a total of 9-6 (+3) four matches in.
As a team, the RedHawks have also defended better than their opponents. They are outshooting teams 55-30 (27-19 SOG) and their goalkeepers are posting a .667 save percentage. Freshman Isabelle Perese has seen most of the minutes in goal for Miami, but senior Rosie Kalis started the most recent contest.
Offensively, junior Allie Grace Joyner has quickly tallied four goals for eight points. She is the only RedHawk with multiple goals. Senior Kenzie Peterson is one of two players with an assist but the only player with more than one. Saint Francis will also have to keep an eye on junior Leonor Berlie. Though she only has one goal to start the year, she has registered 20 shots, by far the most on the team.
Series History: Miami leads 2-0
This will be the third matchup between the Red Flash and the RedHawks. Every match, including Sunday's, will have taken place at the Miami Field Hockey Complex. Miami handed Saint Francis its first loss of the season last year in a 5-0 victory. The only other time these teams met was in September of 2012, a 3-2 RedHawks victory.
Welcome Home
After two weekend trips outside of Pennsylvania to start the season, Saint Francis finally welcomes an opponent to DeGol Field on Friday. Though they are right back on the road for Sunday's match, Saint Francis will look to utilize home field advantage and the Loretto crowd to break the ice and pick up some momentum as the season begins to heat up.
SFU Ready to Break Through
The Red Flash is looking for its highly sought-after first win of the season. So far, the four Red Flash losses have come to teams with a combined record of 10-7. Though the statistics are in favor of opponents, the Red Flash has nowhere near peaked yet and has been improving every game. That first win can provide the spark they are looking for.
