TROY, Ala. - Appalachian State women's soccer (4-4-1, 1-0-0 SBC) topped Troy (2-8-0, 1-1 SBC) in an exhilarating 3-2 double overtime win in the Sun Belt opener on Friday evening at the Troy Soccer Complex.
App State pulled off a stellar comeback as its final two goals came with less than a minute in both regulation and the second overtime period. At the 109-minute mark,
Blair Anderes took advantage of a Troy turnover for a wide-open shot in the net with the score tied to lift Appalachian to the triumph and the Mountaineers' first Sun Belt-opening victory since 2015. It was Anderes' second goal of the season and the first game-winning score for the Charlotte native.
Appalachian matches last season's win total while Friday night's victory was the first for the Black and Gold on the road.
"Troy is an excellent program, and it was an incredible game," said head coach
Sarah Strickland. "Tonight was truly an amazing group effort, where everyone showed that they believed in each other and never doubted for a minute from the whistle to the last. The selflessness that was shown was truly remarkable."
The Mountaineers, who had been trailing 2-1 since the 65-minute mark, tied up the contest with 35 seconds left in regulation when
Kat Greer found a loose ball at the top of the box and slipped it past the goalkeeper. It was Greer's fifth goal since 2017 that either tied up the game or gave the Black and Gold the lead.
App State needed to come back from a one-goal deficit twice in the showdown. The Trojans took a 1-0 lead within the first 17 minutes of the contest when Alisa Detlefsen scored. However,
Jessica Easley tallied her first score of the season just three minutes later to tie up the contest, 1-all.
Neither team for the rest of the half had a shot on goal except for Troy's attempt later in the half, but
Taylor Ray came up with the save.
Both Ray and
Lauren Burke played in the matchup. Ray played the first half while Burke saw action for the second stanza and both overtime periods.
App had just three shots on goal but all three were taken advantage of while attempting 13 shots overall.
The Apps will look for their first 2-0 to conference action since the 2014 slate when they take on archrival Georgia Southern on Sunday at 1 p.m.
