BOONE, N.C. - Senior David Dodge's goal in the 47th
was all Appalachian State University men's soccer needed, as the Mountaineers
recorded their seventh shutout of the season by defeating Belmont, 1-0, on
Tuesday night at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.
With the victory, the
Apps move to 5-6-3 on the season, while the Bruins drop to 5-8-2.
"I think we were a
little bit tired coming off the long game at Furman," head coach Matt Nelson
said. "But the guys battled through and found a way to win."
After a slow opening
half that saw just one shot on goal for both teams, the pace picked up in the
second half. Just a minute after the start of the second half, Appalachian was
awarded a free kick. Sophomore Patrick Harrow sent the ball to the far post.
Freshman forward Ewahia Amhanesi got his head to ball, keeping it alive before
heading out-of-bounds. Amhanesi's flick found Dodge and the senior tallied his
third goal of the season.
Amhanesi had a chance
eight minutes after the goal when he stole the ball from Belmont's Anthony
Torres. The freshman fired a shot, but Belmont goalkeeper Lou Manning punched
the ball away. Amhanesi was able to get the bouncing rebound, but his header
went over the bar.
The rest of the half
was physical as the rest of the match saw four yellow cards between the teams.
A late foul was given to Belmont with just three seconds left in the match,
setting the Bruins up with a free kick outside the Appalachian box. As the free
kick came in, Belmont's Cody Carpenter's knocked a shot off the post as the
ball bounced out of play, clinching the match for App State.
Sophomore goalkeeper
Paul West earned his first victory and second shutout of the season. West made
three saves on the night, seeing ten shots total. The Mountaineers notched four
shots on goal by four different players.
The Black and Gold
returns to the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex on Saturday, Oct. 20 against Elon,
as the Apps will play back-to-back home matches for the first time this season.
Kickoff has been changed from 7 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
