BOONE, N.C. – The Appalachian State men's soccer team tallied its second straight conference win Saturday night, defeating Howard, 4-0. The 8-2-1 Mountaineers remain undefeated in conference play and have matched their win total from last season, which was the highest number of wins since the 2015 season.
App State's offense exploded for four goals, tying the season-high they set at UNC Greensboro. The Mountaineers used two goals in the first half, followed by two in the second half to shut down the Bison. Howard falls to 2-8-1, 0-1 in the Sun Belt.
On the other side of the ball, the top Sun Belt defense put up its sixth shutout on the season, limiting Howard to just two shots, with only one on goal. App State goalkeeper
Jacob Madden made a great save late in the second half to keep his second straight clean sheet.
Camden Holbrook ignited the App State offense just two minutes into the match, finding the back of the net with his head off a well-played ball into the box from
Parker Cross. Holbrook now has two goals in two straight games.
Brady Gunter got in on the action at the end of the first half, finishing a ball played in by
Kelan Swales and then tapped over by
Roman Galaska. That is the defender's first goal of the season. The Mountaineers would take the 2-0 lead into the break.
The combination of
Juan Hernandez and
Alex Hernandez dominated the second half, both notching a goal and an assist. For the Mountaineers' third goal,
Alex Hernandez found
Juan Hernandez at the top of the box, who finished to the left side of the net for his first goal of the season, in the 54
th minute.
Juan Hernandez returned the favor just six minutes later, finding
Alex Hernandez for the Apps' fourth and final goal.
Alex Hernandez now has two goals on the year, and
Juan Hernandez is now tied for the team lead in assists with three.
The Mountaineers put up a season-high 21 shots on goal, with
Juan Hernandez leading the team with three. Starting keeper for the Bison, Carlos Caro, made seven saves. The Apps' also held the advantage in corners, taking 10 compared to just two by Howard.
Appalachian returns to Ted Mack on Wednesday (10/16) for a non-conference match against UAB at 7 p.m.
