By Jacob Plecker for App State Sports. BOONE, N.C. — Bridget Donovan notched the first goal of her sophomore season in the fourth quarter on Sept. 22, but the App State Mountaineers (5-3, 1-1 MAC) fell 4-1 to the Miami RedHawks (6-3, 2-0 MAC) at Brandon & Erica M. Adcock Field.
The Mountaineer defense held the RedHawks to just 10 shots in the contest, with fifth-year goalkeeper Addie Clark saving four of those. Clark posted another shutout quarter in the game but saw her streak of consecutive games holding the opposition below three goals come to an end.
Donovan became the 10th Mountaineer to score a goal this season, coming off a stroke in the fourth quarter. With Donovan’s goal, 14 Mountaineers have recorded a point this season. App State leads the MAC Conference in points with 48.
Addie Clark’s four saves in Friday’s contest gives her 25Â for the season and 230 for her career.
How it Happened
1st Quarter: Miami started the scoring, drawing the game’s first penalty corner in the fifth minute of play. Paula Peña Martinez recorded her third goal of the year off the corner. The Mountaineers came out aggressive early in the game, drawing two corners and firing two shots. Charlotte Bosma and Noa Ginjaume Matas each attempted a shot in the first 15 minutes, but each one wide of the mark. Miami added another score in the ninth minute of play after drawing a penalty stroke. Claudia Negrete Garcia was able to get the ball past Clark, giving the RedHawks a 2-0 lead the first quarter’s end.
2nd Quarter: The Mountaineer defense turned up the pressure in the second quarter and held the RedHawks scoreless in the period. Miami drew just one corner opportunity in the period, with Clark picking up her first of four saves on the day on a Negrete Garcia shot attempt. App State maintained control of the ball for most of the second period but were unable to capitalize on any scoring chances. Miami kept the 2-0 lead into halftime.
3rd Quarter: App State came out of halftime aiming to break the Miami defense and generate scoring opportunities. Just three minutes into the period, the Mountaineers drew their third corner of the game, providing a good scoring opportunity. Charlotte Bosma took her second shot off the insert but fired it high. Later in the period, the RedHawks forced a turnover deep on the Mountaineers’ side of the field and Reese Wearren fought her way past the App State defenders and scored an unassisted goal to make it 3-0 Miami. Clark and the Mountaineer defense held out the rest of the period, stopping two more RedHawk shots to keep the Miami lead at 3-0 after 45 minutes of play. Clark picked up her second save of the day on a shot attempt by Miami’s Carlie Servis.
4th Quarter: In the final quarter, the Mountaineers played outshot Miami, 4-3, and drew two penalty corners to Miami’s none. App State finally broke through on the scoreboard with Donovan’s goal and only five minutes left on the game clock. The goal was Donovan’s first of the season and sixth of her career. Clark picked up two more saves in the fourth period to give her four on the day, but Miami was able to tally one more goal in the final stanza to round out RedHawk scoring for the contest. By day’s end, App State drew more penalty corners than Miami but couldn’t execute effectively, losing for the first time in the MAC this season.
App State’s next matchup is in Chapel Hill on Sept. 24, at nationally ranked (No. 2) North Carolina, with gametime slated for 12 noon.
