BOONE, N.C. - Senior
Jake Chasteen and sophomore
Juan Hernandez represented Appalachian State University men's soccer on the Sun Belt All-Preseason team, as the preseason awards and poll was announced on Tuesday.
Chasteen is coming off his best year between the posts, starting in 13 of 19 matches while contributing to four of App's six shutouts, which was tied for third in the Sun Belt. The hometown native's 1.08 goals against average were tied for second in the league and his save percentage was good for fourth. At one point last season, Chasteen registered three straight clean sheets and didn't allow a goal for 309 consecutive minutes. He'll help anchor one of the top defenses in the Sun Belt once again.
Hernandez made a splash in his debut season where he was the only freshman in the Sun Belt to lead his team in goals with two and points with six. His two goals against Central Arkansas helped the Apps pull out the victory and earned the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week award in the process. Both of his assists aided in a pair of 1-0 victories over Longwood and UNC Asheville. The Winter Garden, Fla., native is one of three sophomores to be mentioned with Aldair Cortes (Georgia Southern) and Carlos Caro (Howard).
App State was selected fourth in the conference with No. 18 Coastal Carolina picked to win the league. Georgia State was picked to finish second and Georgia Southern followed suit at third, while Howard rounded out the poll at fifth.
Chasteen and Hernandez will look to help lead a young Mountaineer squad, as they boast 25 underclassmen that include 14 incoming freshmen. App continues its preseason on Wednesday when it travels to Radford, Va. for a 6 p.m. friendly against the Highlanders.
2018 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason All-Conference Team
Juan Hernandez, Appalachian State (So., F, Winter Garden, Fla.)
Yazeed Matthews, Coastal Carolina (Sr., F, Johannesburg, South Africa)
*Javier Carbonell, Georgia Southern (Jr., F, Madrid, Spain)
Saif Alhameli, Coastal Carolina (Sr., MF, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates)
*Hannes Burmeister, Georgia State (Sr., MF, Bentwisch, Germany)
**Max Hemmings, Georgia State (Sr., MF, Wokingham, England)
*Kervin Fadel, Coastal Carolina (Sr., D, San Jose, Costa Rica)
**Aldair Cortes, Georgia Southern (So., D, Cairo, Ga.)
*Kyle Clinton, Georgia State (Jr., D, Havant, England)
Jake Chasteen, Appalachian State (Sr., GK, Boone, N.C.)
Carlos Caro, Howard (So., GK, Silver Springs, Md.)
*Denotes 2017 All-Sun Belt First Team | **Denotes 2017 All-Sun Belt Second Team
2018 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Offensive Player of the Year
Hannes Burmeister, Georgia State (Sr., MF, Bentwisch, Germany)
2018 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Defensive Player of the Year
Kervin Fadel, Coastal Carolina (Sr., D, San Jose, Costa Rica)
2018 Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Coaches' Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parentheses)
Rank Team Points
1. Coastal Carolina (4) 24
2. Georgia State 18
3. Georgia Southern (1) 17
4. Appalachian State 9
5. Howard 7
