GREENSBORO, N.C. - App State men's soccer bounced back with a 4-2 road win against UNCG on Saturday evening at UNCG Soccer Stadium.
App State improves to 5-2 with its first road win of the season while the Spartans drop to 2-4.
The Mountaineers' offense came alive with a season high goals and the most scored on the road since 2009. It also ties the most goals allowed by the Spartans this season.
"We're pleased with the performance tonight," head coach
Jason O'Keefe said. "It was a complete team effort. To go on the road and get a win is not easy. We will recover and get back to work tomorrow to get ready for UNC Asheville."
App used a first-half surge to take a commanding lead with three goals in the first 29 minutes of the game.
Parker Cross' free-kick met
Zeiko Harris in the 18th minute to put the Black and Gold on the board for a 1-0 edge. It was Harris' second goal of the season while Cross tallied his first assist.
UNCG scored three minutes later in the 21st minute from a penalty kick by Albert Pedra.
The tie didn't last long as
Dimitris Moraitakis gave the Apps a commanding 2-1 lead with a nice strike off a missed shot off the post, giving the sophomore his first goal of the campaign.
It wasn't a minute later when
Kelan Swales started what turned into a stellar day for the sophomore, nailing a shot from outside the box that gave the Mountaineers a two-goal advantage.
Alex McGrath was credited with his team-best second helper of the season.
UNCG made things interesting in the 79th minute with a score from Casey Penland that sliced the App lead to just one, 3-2. However, Swales recorded his first multi-score performance after going halfway down the field and placing the shot in the net. The goal gave App a two-goal lead, which led to the eventual victory and a 2-0 record when coming off a loss this season.
Mayola Kinyua earned his first point in a Black and Gold uniform with the assist to the sophomore.
Appalachian will return home on Wednesday at 7 p.m. when it faces UNCA.
