STATESBORO, Ga. - Appalachian State University men's soccer (7-5-3, 1-1-1 SBC) fell to Georgia Southern (6-5-3, 2-0-1 SBC) in a 1-0 decision on Saturday evening at Erk Park.
"Really tough, hard-fought game tonight," head coach
Jason O'Keefe said. "Losing is hard, and to lose with six seconds left is also hard. We will continue to learn from these moments and become better for the future because we have been in these situations. Georgia Southern is a good and well-coached team, and we will have to execute a little better if we have a chance to play them again."
The Mountaineers and the Eagles were engaged in a defensive battle during the evening. Appalachian and GS combined for 15 shots but just five were on goal.
Saturday's contest was about as even as you could ask for. GS held a 3-2 edge in shots on goal, while corners (4-4) and fouls (8-8) were even.
Both teams held each other scoreless for the entire match until GS' Gonzalo Talavera scored with six seconds left in the contest to give the Eagles the win.
App State was unable to get a rhythm on offense with just two attempts that were on frame and five shot attempts.
With the first half scoreless in the final few minutes of the contest,
Alex Hernandez fired away on a shot attempt looking to give App the lead. But Jokull Blaengsson came up with the save to keep the game tied at 0-0.
The defensive battle continued in the second half.
Jake Chasteen stopped Aldair Cortes' strike early in the second half to keep scoreboard with zeroes.
Dimitris Moraitakis was the next Mountaineer to give App a shot at breaking the tie, but his shot attempt in the 69th minute was stopped in its tracks.
Neither team would have another opportunity at the net until the final seconds with GS' goal.
App State will end the regular season at home on Saturday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. against Howard for Senior Day to honor Chasteen,
Ian Bennett, and
Felix Kollmannthaler.
