CONWAY, S.C. - App State University men's soccer fell to No. 3 seed Georgia Southern in the opening round of the 2017 Sun Belt Championship held in Conway, S.C. on Friday morning.
App State's season concludes at 5-8-6, while GS will advance to the semifinal round to face Georgia State on Sunday.
The Mountaineers came into the tournament ready to go on a run to the title, but the Eagles outlasted App State in a hard-fought contest that went to penalty kicks. Both teams went back and forth during the period until
the Eagles scored on the final attempt with the score knotted at 4-apiece.
Scoring the penalty goals were
John Walrath,
Ian Bennett, Juan Hernandez, and Michael Davidson.
Both teams had opportunities where 21-of-35 shots at the goal were on target, including a 9-for-14 performance from the Black and Gold.
Felix Kollmannthaler posted three shots on the frame while Bennett had a pair of shots at the back of the net.
The App defense got back on track capturing its sixth shutout of the campaign following a pair of matches in which it allowed six goals combined while stopping a GS offense in its tracks after scoring eight goals in the past three contests.
Jake Agnew recorded the start, playing the entire match between the posts. He recorded a season-high seven saves in the setback.
Despite the loss, Appalachian will bring back the highly-talented group of underclassmen that played a pivotal part in the App's five victories and six shutouts.
