2017 Schedule
BOONE, N.C. –– Highlighted by nine home matches, four contests against NCAA Tournament teams and two ACC opponents, Appalachian State University men's soccer head coach Jason O'Keefe announced the 2017 schedule on Thursday.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 6-9-5 season but were involved in some close affairs as 12 matches were decided by one goal or less. App will return six starters including Jake Agnew, who registered three shutouts and an impressive 0.98 GAA.
"We are excited to have a balanced schedule between home and road matches this season," stated the second-year head coach. "It will give our athletes a chance to showcase their talents to the fanbase and an opportunity to build on an already good relationship with the community. "
Appalachian will test itself before the regular season with a string of three-straight exhibition matches starting on Sunday, Aug. 13th against NC State in Raleigh. App State will play in its annual Black vs. Gold contest on Aug. 16th at 7 p.m., while ending the preseason against Radford three days later at 7 p.m. in Boone.
The Mountaineers will open up the regular season with a pair of road matches in Virginia during the first three days of the regular season. App makes the trek to Norfolk, Va. on Friday, Aug. 25th against Old Dominion before heading to Richmond, Va. to face VCU at 7 p.m. on the 27th.
Five days later, App starts a daunting four-match stretch highlighted by a three-match homestand. During that stretch, App will face two NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago, while all four teams combined to go 48-21-11 (.688) in 2016. App will kick-off the regular season home slate against Central Arkansas on Friday, Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. home contest on Sunday against Long Island Brooklyn to finish the weekend.
App concludes the homestand against a strong ETSU squad on Sept. 9th, as the Buccaneers finished the season at 12-5-3 en route to an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. The Mountaineers will play their second-straight NCAA Tournament team from 2016 against Wake Forest in Winston-Salem at 7 p.m. on Sept. 12. WF boasted a 19-3-3 mark and advanced all the way to the National Championship game before falling to Stanford in penalty kicks.
The Black and Gold will host Longwood (Sept. 16th - 7 pm) before hitting the road against a pair of in-state foes in UNC Greensboro (Sept. 23 - 7 p.m.) and the second ACC team of the season at Duke (Sept. 26th - 7 p.m.).
"Each match will present a great challenge for our team, " mentioned O'Keefe. "Scheduling four NCAA Tournament teams will certainly test our players and prepare us for a competitive Sun Belt Conference."
Appalachian opens Sun Belt play in the nation's capital against Howard on Oct. 7th at 7 p.m. A second three-match homestand will ensue with App hosting UNC Asheville at 7 p.m. on the 10th. Hartwick (Oct. 14th - 7 p.m.) and Campbell (Oct. 17th - 7 p.m.) both visit the High Country prior to the Mountaineers hitting the road for three matches.
The Mountaineers finish the season playing three league contests in the final four matches, beginning with Sun Belt Tournament runner-up Georgia State in Atlanta on Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. Appalachian then will travel to Clinton, S.C. for a 7 p.m. match against Presbyterian for the final non-conference contest of the year.
App faces the top two teams in the conference from last season including the defending Sun Belt Regular Season and Tournament champions in Coastal Carolina (Oct. 28 - 1 p.m.) and closing the slate against archrival Georgia Southern at home on Nov. 4.
Coastal Carolina will host the 2017 Sun Belt Tournament from Nov. 7-11 in Conway, S.C.
