Women's soccer team will travel to Satesboro for first-round conference tournament game 

David Jackson, Staff Writer 

It is do or die time for the Appalachian women’s soccer team. 
 
After dropping their final two games of the 1998 season, including a 2-0 loss in a key Southern Conference match-up with Wofford, the Mountaineers must hit the road Tuesday for the first round of the Southern Conference Tournament. 

Destination: Georgia Southern. 
 
After playing UNC-Greensboro and Furman to close 1-0 defeats, the third-seeded Eagles are not exactly the team the Apps want to face in the single elimination tournament. 
 
Georgia Southern drubbed Appalachian earlier this year, 4-0, in a contest that the Mountaineers were never really in. The Eagles put two goals on the board in the first 16 minutes of play, and outshot the Apps, 19-10, on a muggy afternoon in Statesboro. 

Historically, Georgia Southern has been a thorn in the side of the women’s soccer program. 

The Eagles lead the overall series, 6-2, and have won the past two meetings in the series, the first of which knocked the Mountaineers out of the 1997 conference tournament. The only two losses the squad has against Appalachian have come on the turf at Kidd Brewer Stadium. In games at Eagle field, Georgia Southern has out- scored the Apps, 21-2, in five contests. 

Despite the numbers, Mountaineer Head Coach Ben Popoola feels his team has a shot at knocking off the Eagles. 

“I am not afraid to play anybody,” Popoola said. “Georgia Southern is a team that can be beat, and I think our team has the talent to beat them. If our same team that held Furman and UNC- Greensboro to one goal, and led UNC-Charlotte at halftime, shows up, there is no doubt in my mind that we can win that game.  However, you can’t make mistakes against them and expect to get away with it.  They are a different team when they 
play in their place, and we need to respect that, and play error-free soccer,” he added. 

Even with the impending sense of urgency that lurks over the Georgia Southern contest, Appalachian put together another season for the record books. 

The team heads into tournament play with an overall record of 7-10, which ties a school record for most wins in a single-season.  The team’s three conference wins also equals a program high in that category that was originally established a year ago. 

Appalachian established a new record for most goals in a single game after beating Middle Tennessee State, 8-1.  The win also equalled the mark for the largest margin of victory by a Mountaineer squad, which was set earlier in the season against Morehead State. 

The squad’s 40 goals in 1998 shattered the previous single-season high of 26, set back in 1996.  The team also eclipsed the 100-point mark for the first time in their five-year history. 

“We had a good year, despite what happens at Georgia Southern, and with the rest of the season,” Popoola said.  “Record wise, I think we could have been better.  I think there were some games that got away from us, but the girls always bounced back and gave their best effort, and as a coach, that is all you can ask for,” he said. 

With the 1998 season coming to a close, the career of the most prolific scorer in Mountaineer soccer history also nears an end. 
Senior midfielder Allison Osborne embarks on what will be her final conference tournament.  Though she has come off the bench for the majority of the season, Osborne leads the team in scoring with seven goals and one assist, good for 15 points. The Raleigh native has finished the past two seasons atop the team in goals scored, and total points tallied. 

The 1998 season has seen Osborne net a career-high seven goals, while establishing the all-time record for career goals scored (18), and career points (41).  Following the match with Georgia Southern, Osborne will have played in 75 career contests, ranking her one game above assistant coach Farrell O’Quinn for most career games played in a Mountaineer uniform. 

“Allison (Osborne) has been a constant for us,” Popoola said.  “When we need a goal, she has been able to deliver, and sometimes that is not easy to do coming off the bench.  She has adjusted to that role well, and that shows me that after soccer is over for her, she is going to be able to adjust to any type of situation that confronts her in life, because she is that type of person,” he added. 

Popoola has also been pleased with the play of his many freshmen, who have turned out to be the most productive group of newcomers in the program’s short history. 

Of the top five individual scorers on the team, four of them are freshmen.  Mavis Clapp leads the charge of the newcomers, with five goals and three assists on the season. Casey Jacobs, Jinelle James, and Kristin Goldsmith have also contributed 10+ points on the season. The freshmen on the roster account for 25 of the team’s 40 goals. 

“This recruiting class has been a good one,” Popoola said.       “Coming into the season, I was a little worried that I was going to have so many freshmen in the lineup, and that the lack of experience would hurt us early on.  But, that has not been the case with this group.  I think we have a strong base of kids right now, with the freshmen, and with what we have already in place.  If we can recruit a class next year that is half as good as this one, we will have one of the top four teams in the conference.” 

A win over Georgia Southern would not only send the Mountaineers to the Southern Conference semifinals in Greenville, S.C.,  Nov. 7, but it would also give Popoola his 200th career victory as a women’s head soccer coach. 

The former ACC Player-of-the-Year has already reached that mark as a men’s head coach, compiling 201 wins in 13 seasons. 

“If getting my 200th win this season means that my team is still alive and playing, then I’m all for the record. I have never been in coaching for the records and the glory. I am in this for the kids. I would do anything to keep this season going, because this is a great team to be around. They have battled through some tough times with their heads up, and I am very proud of the way they have come together,” said Popoola. 

If Appalachian should beat the Eagles in Statesboro, and win the Southern Conference championship in Greenville, they would be the recipient of the first-ever automatic bid to the NCAA tournament by a Southern Conference school. 

With the women’s tournament expanding to a field of 48, the Southern Conference no longer has to stage a play-in game with another conference to earn a bid.