SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – The Missouri State field hockey team closes out the regular season this weekend in a series of three road matches featuring Appalachian State (Oct. 27), Longwood (Oct. 29) and Virginia Commonwealth (Oct. 30).

Thursday, the Bears travel to Boone, N.C. to take on future Mid-American Conference member Appalachian State at 4 p.m. Saturday, the squad will travel north to Farmville, Va., for its final MAC match of the regular season, facing the Longwood Lancers at 2 p.m. The next morning, Missouri State will cap off its regular season at 11 a.m. against Virginia Commonwealth in Richmond, Va.
 

Missouri State (2-11, 1-4 MAC) at Appalachian State (1-12) | Longwood (8-8, 2-3 MAC) | Virginia Commonwealth (5-11)
Dates and Times	Oct, 27, 4 p.m. at Appalachian State | *Oct. 29, 2 p.m. at Longwood | Oct. 30, 11 a.m. at Virginia Commonwealth
Locations	Boone, N.C | Farmville, Va. | Richmond, Va.
Sites	Adock Field | Longwood Athletics Complex | Cary Street Field
Follow	Live Stats | Facebook | Twitter
	*denotes Mid-American Conference match

Series History
Appalachian State
Missouri State holds a 9-1 series lead over Appalachian State, winning the first eight matches against the Mountaineers. The last MSU victory came on Sept. 10, 2011 when the Bears edged out the Mountaineers 3-2. Appalachian state won the last contest 6-4 on Aug. 30, 2015, breaking the Bears' eight-match win streak.
 
Longwood
Only playing the Bears three times, the Longwood Lancers boast a close, 2-1 series record over Missouri State. Missouri State won the first match between the two teams 2-1 on Sept. 13, 1991 while Longwood has taken the last two matches played on Sept. 18, 2014 and Oct. 31, 2015.
 
Virginia Commonwealth
Virginia Commonwealth leads Missouri State with a 4-1 series record, winning the last four matches against the Bears. Missouri State's 3-1 victory over the Rams dates back to Sept. 21, 1989 and is the only match the Bears have won between the two. Virginia Commonwealth's last victory was on Aug. 24, 2012, when the Rams took the match 6-1.
 
Last Meeting
Appalachian State
On Aug. 30, the Bears took on the Mountaineers in Louisville, Ky., where they dropped the match 6-4. Missouri State got on the board in the 14^th minute and within eight minutes, the Appalachian State squad responded with two goals of its own. In the 33^rd minute, the Bears evened up the score 2-2, but the Mountaineers scored off a corner play to take the lead once again. The Bears earned their final goal of the day in the 70^th minute, falling 6-4 to the Mountaineers.

Longwood
The last meeting between the two teams took place on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015 at Betty and Bobby Allison North Stadium where the Bears fell 1-0 to the Lancers. In Missouri State's final regular season game, Longwood found the back of the cage with only 53 seconds remaining when a Lancer put a shot past MSU goalkeeper Feli Heinzel. Sydney Richelieu, Andrea Soler Codina and Charlie Redhead had a team-high two shots each.

Virginia Commonwealth
The last time the Bears and the Rams met was in Missouri State's 2012 season opener where the Bears dropped the match 6-1. Then-freshman Leah Reitmayer was the only Bear to score, nailing a shot off a penalty corner to break the shutout.
 
Bear Bites

• With three games left in the regular season, the Bears enter the weekend with a 2-11 overall record and a 1-4 mark in MAC play. Missouri State has one, final conference match and will face two more non-conference opponents.
• Three Bears – Andrea Soler Codina, Bianca Mills and Liz Young – have tallied a team-leading four goals this season. Mills earned her fourth goal of the season against the Davidson Wildcats when she flicked a shot into the cage from five yards out on the left side. Soler Codina leads the squad with 12 points, followed by Mills (11) and Young (10).
• On Senior Day (Oct. 23), senior goalkeeper Megan Drew brought in a career-high 13 saves against the Davidson Wildcats. The San Diego native now sits 10^th on the Bears' all-time list. Drew and Feli Heinzel carry 44 saves apiece, combining for a .701 save percentage. The pair have allowed only 38 goals on the season.
• Missouri State is led by Catherine Ostoich, who is in her first season at the helm for the Bears.

 
A Look At The Competition
Appalachian State
Joining the MAC in the 2017-18 school year, the Appalachian State field hockey team enters Thursday's affair with a 1-12 record. The squad's lone victory was against LIU Brooklyn on Sept. 4 when Appalachian State racked up 8 goals and limited the Blackbirds to just one. The Mountaineers have fallen to several other Bear opponents including Ball State, Longwood, VCU, Davidson, Pacific, Saint Francis and Miami (Ohio).

Offensively, Taylor Cimbalist and Melissa Nobile lead the squad with 5 goals apiece. Along with a team-leading five goals, Cimbalist leads the team with four assists and 14 points. Overall, the team has scored 21 goals on the season and accumulated 121 shots, 79 of which being shots on goal.

Defensively, Appalachian State's lone goalkeeper Rachel Gaines has put in a total of 916 minutes, bringing in 90 saves while allowing 53 goals. Gaines carries a .629 save percentage and has started every match this season. As a team, the Mountaineers have tallied 10 team saves.

Head coach Meghan Dawson is in her second season leading the Mountaineers.

Longwood
An even 8-8, the Lancers boast a 2-3 record in MAC play. Key victories for Longwood this season were against Villanova, Davidson, Ohio and Liberty.

Longwood has outscored its opponents 45-40 this season with Edel Nyland leading the way, scoring a conference-leading 16 goals. Nyland also leads the conference in points (37) and points per game (2.31). Leonie Verstraete follows Nyland with 13 goals and 32 points. Longwood has fired 230 shots while limiting their opponents to just 177.

Goalkeeper Lauren Bernard has started all 16 games this season, racking up 75 saves. In 1150 minutes, Bernard has only surrendered 40 goals. With an 8-8 record in the cage, she has recorded 1 shutout on the season. Longwood has tallied four defensive saves on the season.

Iain Byers is in his 12^th season at the helm for the Lancers.

Virginia Commonwealth
The Virginia Commonwealth Rams boast a 5-11 overall record heading into the weekend and will go head-to-head against Saint Louis prior to the match against the Bears. VCU picked up wins against Davidson (3-2, 3-1), Longwood (3-2 OT), Appalacian State (5-1) and Townson (3-2).

Offensively, Emily McNamara leads the team with 12 goals and 32 points. Spencer Tossone has a team-leading nine assists and follows McNamara with 13 points. The Rams have registered 162 shots and have a collective .191 shooting percentage.

Goalkeeper Chessa Kownurko has made 14 starts, spending a total of 1139 minutes in the cage for Virginia Commonwealth. The keeper has tallied 103 saves along with a .678 save percentage over the course of the season.

Virginia Commonwealth is under the field direction of Laura Baker, who is in her fourth season at VCU.

Final Details
The Bears begin their three-game road trip Thursday at 4 p.m. against Appalachian State in Boone, N.C. The Bears will then play at Longwood (Oct. 29, 2 p.m.) and Virginia Commonwealth (Oct. 30, 11 a.m.) to close out the regular season. Live stats will be available at www.missouristatebears.com and live updates will be available via Facebook (Missouri State Field Hockey) and Twitter (MSUBearsFHockey).