BOONE, N.C. - Appalachian State University men's soccer
wrapped up its regular season, Saturday, riding a two-match winning streak, as
the Mountaineers knocked off Davidson 2-0 on senior night at the Ted Mackorell
Soccer Complex.
Appalachian evens up
its overall record to 7-7-3 on the year and 2-3-2 in Southern Conference play.
The Wildcats fell to 6-10-1 on the year and 2-5 in league play.
"I'm happy with the
way everyone played," head coach Matt Nelson said. "This was probably our best performance
of the season. Knowing that we have a couple of freshmen on the field and
stepping into their roles and once we get some of our players healthy next
week, I think we'll be on the verge of something special."
The first half got
off to an aggressive start, as nine fouls were called within the opening 20
minutes of play. The ninth foul proved to be the most costly for Davidson when
sophomore forward Kristian Lee-Him
was fouled inside the opposing box and was awarded a penalty kick in the 20th
minute. Lee-Him's penalty got Appalachian on the scoreboard when his shot hit
the bottom, left corner as Davidson goalkeeper Matt Pacifici went right.
For Lee-Him, the goal
now ties him with the team-lead with senior David Dodge, tallying three on the
year.
The Mountaineer defense
continued their dominance against opponents, allowing Davidson to record just
one shot on goal. Junior defender Harrison Delbridge got on the attacking end when freshman Alex Herbst sent in a corner kick
to head of the junior. The header was barely touched over the bar by Pacifici,
disallowing the second goal of the match.
App State got its
insurance goal in the 82nd minute when sophomore forward Stanley Broaden used his speed to get
past DC's backline, down the sideline. Broaden fed a pass back to the feet of
sophomore midfielder Luke Adams
who fired a shot past Pacifici for his first goal in an Appalachian uniform.
On a night that the
program honored its eight seniors, Kojo Thompson and Lee Williams led a backline that recorded their eighth
shutout of the season. In goal,
sophomore Paul West matched junior Danny Free's total of four clean
sheets on the year. West made just one save on the night, and the Mountaineers
held DC scoreless for the second straight time, tallying a 2-0 shutout over the
Wildcats in last season's SoCon quarterfinals.
"We focus more on
performance, not results," Nelson said. "The first couple games, even though
the results weren't there, the performance was. We didn't get wins in some
close games this year, but in the last two games, things have bounced in our
favor."
Appalachian learns in
tournament fate after the conference's final match on Tuesday, Oct. 30 between
College of Charleston and Wofford. The Mountaineers currently sit in the sixth
position, but could fall to the No. 7 seed with a Wofford victory.