BOONE, N.C. – The postseason begins today as the Appalachian State men's soccer team hosts Howard in the Sun Belt Tournament at 7 p.m. All matches will be played at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex in Boone.
Last Time Out
The Mountaineers were defeated 3-0 in the regular season finale against Georgia State. The Panthers leading scorer Aris Briggs opened the match with goals in the 10th and 15th minute. The Mountaineers came close, with a chance from
Austin Hill that was saved, and a shot from
Aldo Tarantini that hit the crossbar. The Panthers then closed the game with a free kick from George Proctor in the 85th minute for their third goal. Appalachian outshot Georgia State (14-10), and had more shots on goal (5-3), but were unable to find the back of the net.
All-Sun Belt
Zeiko Harris was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Sun Belt, while midfielder
Alex McGrath earned Second Team All-Sun Belt honors.
Harris has anchored the App State defense that ended the regular season leading the Sun Belt in shutouts (7), T-2nd in goals allowed (20) and T-3rd in goals against average (1.153). App State's shutout percentage of .412 sits at 37th nationally. Along with Harris' defensive effort, he has scored two goals this season, including the game-winner in the 2-0 win over George Mason. The defender has tallied nine shots with four on goal.
McGrath started in all 17 regular season games in 2019. Selected as captain this season, the midfielder has tallied three assists in wins against George Mason, UNC Greensboro, and Howard. The graduate student has taken eight shots and also helped in the defensive effort throughout the season.
Team Leaders
Kelan Swales,
Camden Holbrook, and
Alex Hernandez are even with four goals for the team-lead in scoring, while
Juan Hernandez leads the team in assists with four.
United Soccer Coaches Poll
The Mountaineers were recently ranked 10th in the Southeast region in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. This is the 10th straight week the team has been ranked in the top 10 in the region.
Scouting Howard
The Bison come into Wednesday's match 5-11-1. Since playing the Mountaineers in the regular season, they have a record of 3-3, including victories over Sun Belt opponents Georgia State and Georgia Southern, and losses to Coastal Carolina and Central Arkansas. Andres Gomez leads the team in scoring with 10 goals, while goalkeeper Carlos Caro has a save percentage of .741, playing in all but four games.
Series History
The Mountaineers lead series with a record of 4-1-2, with their last matchup on October 12th a 4-0 win in Boone. Mountaineer goals were scored by
Camden Holbrook,
Brady Gunter,
Alex Hernandez, and
Juan Hernandez.
Up Next
The winner of this matchup will face Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. in the Sun Belt Championship semifinals.
