Garrison chosen All-Sun Belt Conference as a freshman

BOONE – Former Wheatmore star Ellie Garrison has been selected to the All-Sun Belt Conference soccer team as a freshman for Appalachian State University.

She was joined by teammate Izzi Wood, a graduate student at App State from Hickory.

 “I’m thrilled for Izzi and Ellie, a truly dynamic duo,” head coach Aimee Haywood said. “They have both had such an impact on the team’s performance this season offensively and defensively. I love to see players who work so hard get the recognition they deserve.”

After her high school career that saw Garrison set the single-season goals record (96) and career goals record (230) for the state, she quickly acclimated to the college game. Garrison scored four goals and tallied five assists during the regular season, totaling 13 points, the most by an App State freshman in the Sun Belt era (2014-present). 

Garrison also finished the regular season tied for seventh in the Sun Belt in assists. Garrison tallied a two-goal game against Longwood on Aug. 29 for her first career goals and was subsequently named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week. She also added a multi-assist game against Radford on Sept. 5.  

A native of Trinity, Garrison finished regular season play ranked second on the team in goals, assists, points, shots, shots on goal and game-winning goals. She has started all 18 games in her first season, and becomes the first player in program history to earn All-Sun Belt honors as a freshman. 

Appalachian State’s season came to an end on Nov, 4 when the team was knocked out of the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament by Texas State. Their record was 7-7-5 at season’s end.