BOONE, N.C. — Freshman goalkeeper Jake Agnew made three saves to get his first career shutout and remain unbeaten in his four matches between the frames for Appalachian State University men's soccer as it drawed Presbyterian College 0-0 in double overtime on Tuesday night at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex.
Presbyterian had their best look at a goal late in the first overtime off a header, but Agnew was to jump in front of it quickly, keeping Appalachian's hopes alive after 95-plus minutes of action, getting the team's first shutout of the year and keeping the Blue Hose without a single goal in the two team's three all-time contests.
"We watched a few games and saw a few opportunities but I don't think we executed well – we had 10 corners but not a single shot on goal off of one, I don't think, so that was pretty disappointing," head coach Jason O'Keefe said. "I would expect to outshoot most teams at home. It's our field, we should be aggressive. We started a little slow and Presbyterian didn't have to do as much work in the first 30 minutes as I would have liked, so because of that, they were able to defend and stay compact and they did a great job of being well-organized."
O'Keefe continued, "However, getting the shutout is a great positive from today. Defending as a unit, all 11 guys on the field, pressing a little better and getting at teams are all things we will continue to work at, but definitely, we'll build on the shutout and we'll build on an unbeaten streak in four games. Being 3-1-2 in our last six is a great thing to build on going into conference play. There's a lot of things that are very good, but I'm going to be ultra-critical of the other things and that's how we'll get better."
The Mountaineers (3-5-2) remain strong in recent outings, only having lost one match in their last six, while the Blue Hose (4-6-1, 2-0 Big South) continued to struggle on the road, being held scoreless for the first time in three matches.
The Black and Gold offense was clicking in every way but the finish in the matchup as they dominated in possession, shots (9-6) and corners (10-0). It's the second-straight time that PC has been held without a corner kick. The backline and Agnew held strong as well, limiting PC to just the six shots and only three on goal.
Leading the Mountaineers on offense was Raheem Somersall, who, after getting his first career goal last week against UNC Asheville, has come alive to be a main part of the App State attack. Somersall finished with three shots and one on goal, while Daniel Avila had two shots and one on goal. Stephen Chapman also had two shots, while John Walrath and Cooper Coughlin rounded out the attack with one shot each.
Since getting its first win on Sept. 13 over USC Upstate, Appalachian has totaled eight goals off five assists and have fired 77 total shots (33 on goal – .429 shot-on-goal percentage). In the recent six-match stretch, the Mountaineers have outshot opponents 77-56 with a 33-28 advantage on goal.
The Mountaineers will stay at home for their first back-to-back home series of the season, hosting Sun Belt Conference foe Howard on Saturday, Oct. 8. Appalachian State's first conference match of the season is scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m.
