Trojans Close Out Home Slate with Matchups Against App State, Coastal Carolina

TROY, Ala. -- The Troy Trojans soccer program closes its 2020 home schedule this weekend with a pair of matchups against App State (Friday, 4 p.m.) and Coastal Carolina (Sunday, 1 p.m.).

Both Friday and Sunday's matchups will be live streamed on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on Troystats.com.

Sunday's 1 p.m. contest will be Troy's senior day celebration, where the Trojans will honor Midfielder Eleonore Freby and defender Karina Valeriano.

Following this weekend's matches against App and Coastal, the Trojans have just two more regular season matches at Georgia State (Oct. 23) and at Georgia Southern (Oct. 25).

HOW TO FOLLOW: Troy (0-5-1 Overall, 0-1-0 Sun Belt) vs. Appalachian State (2-7-1 Overall, 2-5 Sun Belt)
DATE: October 16, 2020
KICKOFF: 4:00 p.m.
LOCATION: Troy Soccer Complex (Troy, Ala.)
LIVE VIDEO (E+): Watch
LIVE STATS: TroyStats.com
SERIES: Troy leads 3-3-1; (2-1 at Troy)
TWITTER: @TroyTrojansWSOC

HOW TO FOLLOW: Troy (0-5-1 Overall, 0-5-1 Sun Belt) at Coastal Carolina (4-2 Overall, 4-2 Sun Belt)
DATE: October 18, 2020
KICKOFF: 1 p.m.
LOCATION: Troy Soccer Complex (Troy, Ala.)
LIVE VIDEO (E+): Watch
LIVE STATS: TroyStats.com
SERIES: Coastal leads 0-5-0; (0-2 at Troy)
TWITTER: @TroyTrojansWSOC

LOOKING FOR REVENGE:
The Trojans will look to even the series with the Mountaineers on Friday afternoon, after App State took the opening game of the series, 1-0 back on Sept. 25. In that game, the Trojans allowed an 87th-minute goal that proved to be the difference.

YOUTH MOVEMENT:
The 2020 Trojans roster features just one senior (Eleonore Freby). The Trojans and head coach Ged O'Connor welcomed 14 newcomers to Troy this season. Four freshmen have started every match (Anderson, Bloomfield, LaRoche and Tessier) for Troy this season. Back on Sept. 20 at South Alabama five Trojans (Anderson, Babineaux, Bloomfield, LaRoche and Tessier) earned the start. In total, 10 of the Trojans 14 true freshmen have seen action.

FRESH[MAN] FACES:
The last two seasons, Troy's true freshmen have scored 13 goals in the last two seasons. Over the last 25 games, Troy's true freshman have recorded 38 total points.

SETTING IT UP:
The Trojans have scored 16 times off set pieces (corner kicks, free kicks and penalty kicks) in their last 23 games. Three of the four Trojan goals this season have been scored off set piece opportunities.

LAST RIDE:
This weekend, the 2020 Trojans will play their final two matches of the season at the Troy Soccer Complex. Following Friday's 4 p.m. kickoff against App State, the Trojans will host Coastal Carolina for senior day. Prior to the 1 p.m. kickoff against the Chants, Troy will honor Eleonore Freby and Karina Valeriano.

BIG [CONFERENCE] PARTY:
After inviting just eight teams to the conference tournament in years past, the Sun Belt Conference tournament will feature all 11 SBC teams. The Tournament begins Nov. 4 at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex

Mountain Mama:
• App State enters the weekend having lost three straight matches and four of five.
• The Mountaineers are 2-7-1 this season and 2-5 in Sun Belt Conference play.
• So far this season, App State has been outscored 19-6.
• Five different Mountaineers have found the score sheet, led by Mark Perkins (2 goals, 1 assist) and Tess Cairney (1 goal, 1 assist).
• In net, preseason All-Sun Belt goalkeeper Kerry Eagleston has played all but 45 minutes this season. Eagleston has allowed 16 of App's 19 goals, recording 36 saves.

GED TALKS:
"Our first matchup against App was a close game all the way until the end. We conceded an own-goal with about three-minutes to go. Tomorrow is going to be a completely different experience for both teams now that we're down here. We're just looking forward to getting back out on the field tomorrow. And then flipping the page to Coastal, I remember our conversation that we had with the girls after the match. We talked about how disappointed we were in their response, how they started the match, as well as our overall effort. We feel like we left a lot in the locker room that day. Our team has already begun discussions about adjustments that we can make for Sunday, because it's an important match, being senior day. This a big weekend for us, and our players have a lot to prove to themselves. Certainly, both Coastal and App are really good teams in different ways. It's going to be a difficult weekend for sure."

On senior day:
"Senior day is always an emotional day. It's a great day but also one of the worst days at the same time. It's always hard saying goodbye to those players who have made it through as many as five years. Rina and Eleonore have both come a long way and have been a huge part of our program. Hopefully in the future we're able to stay in touch. But I know both of these young women are going to be extremely successful in the future."

Trojans Close Out Home Slate with Matchups Against App State, Coastal Carolina

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Players Mentioned

Eleonore Freby

Karina Valeriano

Troy University Athletics