CONWAY, S.C. -- Appalachian State University men's soccer (7-3-2) secured its first victory over No. 22 Coastal Carolina since 2011 behind second-half strikes from
Austin Hill and
Alex Hernandez.
The Mountaineers battled back from a goal down in the second half to stun the ranked Chanticleers 2-1. Saturday's defeat was Coastal Carolina's first Sun Belt loss since its conference opener in 2017.
"It was a great Sun Belt road win today," head coach
Jason O'Keefe said. "It was a complete team effort and execution of a game plan. CCU is the two-time conference champion for a reason, and they are very good and asked a ton from us today."
After Coastal Carolina seized a 1-0 advantage in the 71st minute, the Black and Gold responded with a pair of scores in less than ten minutes. Hill knotted the game at 1-1 in the 76th minute with
Juan Hernandez tallying the assist. Less than two minutes later, Alex netted the game-winner.
The Black and Gold's defense held firm after the second goal, allowing only one off-target shot in the game's final ten minutes. App State also withstood 11 Chanticleers' corner kicks throughout the match.
Jake Chasteen made three pivotal saves, including two in a scoreless first half. The Chanticleers tallied 16 total shots, but only four landed on target.
App State fired eight total shots, four in each half. All eight shots for the Mountaineers came from different student-athletes.
Both Hill and Alex started Saturday's game on the bench, giving the Mountaineers the crucial spark they needed to notch the victory. Hill and Alex both recorded their second goals of the season.
The Mountaineers have tallied two of more goals on the road four times in 2018.
"I was very proud of the resiliency the group showed in battling back after a tough result Wednesday," O'Keefe said. "We will recover and get ready for another great test Wednesday versus Elon."
App State returns home to host in-state foe Elon on Wednesday at 7 p.m.
