NOW PLAYING: Inside Radford Sports (Sept. 23, 2011)

Radford Field Hockey welcomes Appalachian State for its 2011 home opener, Friday night at 6:30 under the lights of RU Hockey Field. It also marks the NorPac opener for both squads, the first East Division matchup of the season.

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This will be the 44th meeting between the squads, which is Radford's longest standing series with any opponent. The Highlanders (4-4, 0-0 NorPac) lead the series 33-10 and are 17-0 at home against the Mountaineers (0-6, 0-0). The teams split in 2010, winning on their respective home fields.

The Highlanders, who opened with eight straight away from home, are looking to rebound from a three-game skid, while the Mountaineers are searching for their first win of the season.

Radford suffered a pair of defeats on the road last weekend at Rider and Villanova. Senior Lynsey Daughtrey (Suffolk, Va./Lakeland) scored the Highlanders' lone goal against the Wildcats, while freshman keeper Becca May (Swedesboro, N.J./Kingsway Regional) made a career-high 12 saves in the second half at Rider.
    
Senior forward Melissa Register (Culpeper, Va./Culpeper County) paces the Highlander offense with three goals and two assists for eight points, while classmate Marlee Schramm (Mantua, N.J./West Deptford) matches her with a team-best three scores.
    
In the cage, the combination of sophomore Sidney Encarnacion (Williamsburg, Va./Walsingham Academy) and May have posted a 2.06 GAA with 57 saves in 577:11 of work.

Appalachian State has not played at home this season and is coming off a tough, 2-1 defeat at Delaware on Sunday. Freshman Brooke Angellella is the Mountaineers' lone multiple goal-scorer with two. Bridgette Street has seen the majority of work in goal, posting a 4.54 GAA with 42 saves.    

Radford returns to the road for three more games, including a pair of league contests at Longwood and Appalachian State on Tuesday and Friday. The Highlanders return home on Oct. 8 when they host Limestone at 3 p.m.