BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University men's soccer enjoyed a break this weekend, only playing at home, hosting Presbyterian on Tuesday, Oct. 4 at 7 p.m. The Mountaineers face a welcome sight in the month of October, playing four of their six matches at home after spending a lot of time on the road.
The Black and Gold (3-5-1) have started to find a rhythm as they head into conference play next weekend, going 3-1-1 in their last five matches. Leading them through this stretch on the offensive attack has been mostly the usual suspects in seniors Stephen Chapman and Jordan Melia with Chapman leading in points (eight) and goals (three) while Melia has led in shots with (18) and is tied-second in goals (two).
But this stretch has included two breakout performances by junior Rian Phillips and sophomore Raheem Somersall. Phillips had two goals in the last two matches, both the game-winning goals against Davidson and UNC Asheville to get him into the top 10 in the league in goals and tied for first in game-winning goals. Somersall got his first goal of his career against UNCA to put the Mountaineers up 1-0.
Joining Somersall with one goal is freshman Graham Smalley, while the playmakers are Daniel Avila and Chapman (two assists) and Ian Bennett and Melia (one).
Continuing his impressive start to his collegiate career between the frames, Jake Agnew has remained unbeaten (2-0-1) as goalkeeper after making four saves against UNC Asheville. Despite only three starts under his belt, Agnew is already among the leaders in the Sun Belt rankings. He's currently second in goals against average (0.69), second in save percentage (.800) and seventh in saves (12). Having nine since his first start, he's averaged 3.00/game when starting, which would be good for sixth in the league.
Beating the Blue Hose
The Presbyterian College Blue Hose enter the midweek bout tied for first in the Big South, 4-6 overall and an undefeated 2-0 in conference play. The Blue Hose enter Tuesday's matchup on a three-match win streak.
Despite being at the top of the rankings, The Blue Hose's offense has been toward the bottom of the league (shots and points– seventh; goals – eighth). But where Presbyterian excels is in playmaking (13 – fourth) and saves (60 – second).
Individually, Mason Lewis has been the main offensive force for PC, tied for third in the Big South in points with 14 (six goals, two assists). His goal-count is also good for tied second in the conference, while leading the league in clutch situations with three game-winning goals. On the playmaking side, Cade Crow leads the team in assists, dropping three dimes so far this season.
Connor Behrend has been the mainstay goalkeeper for the Blue Hose, logging almost 750 minutes thus far in the season. Behrend is first in the Big South in save percentage (.825) while being third in goals against average with (1.20) and saves (47).
The Mountaineers and Presbyterian have only faced off twice all-time, with Appalachian owning a 2-0 record against the Blue Hose. The last showdown between the two teams came last year when the Black and Gold won 3-0 at Presbyterian.
Notes
After spending much of the nonconference schedule on the road, the Mountaineers return for a major October homestand, playing four of their six games in Boone ... Presbyterian is the last chance to prepare for conference play as App State faces Howard on Saturday, Oct. 8 at 7 p.m. ... After PC, the next four games will be against Sun Belt foes ... Rian Phillips is on a two-match streak, having a goal in each and a game-winner in each ... senior Stephen Chapman leads the team in goals (three) with senior Jordan Melia and junior Phillips behind him with two goals each ... Raheem Somersall and Graham Smalley both got their first career goals this season ... Chapman was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 27 ... Head coach Jason O'Keefe got his first career win as head coach of the Mountaineers on Sept. 13 when they downed USC Upstate 3-1 in their home opener ... O'Keefe previously was an assistant coach at North Carolina ... the Mountaineers were picked to finish fifth in the Sun Belt Preseason Coaches Poll ... 15 Mountaineers hail from Appalachian's home state of North Carolina, while five come from outside the U.S. (Jeremy Tshongo - Western Australia; Raheem Somersall - Basseterre, St. Kitts; Jordan Melia - Manchester, England; Thibaut Arpinon - Nimes, France; Felix Kollmannthaler - Frankfurt, Germany) ... App State welcomes 13 newcomers this season, with eight of them being freshmen and the other five being transfers ... of the newcomers, two (Graham Smalley and Camden Harrison) have earned spots on the starting 11.
