Men’s Soccer Notebook (Oct. 12)
APP, GEORGIA SOUTHERN, HARTWICK WIN CONFERENCE OPENERS
The opening weekend of Sun Belt Conference men’s soccer took place last weekend with all six teams in head-to-head action. Appalachian State, Georgia Southern and Hartwick claimed the early leads in the standings by securing three points with victories over the weekend.
HARTWICK DEFEATS PRESEASON FAVORITE COASTAL CAROLINA
In a battle of the top two teams in the Sun Belt Conference preseason poll, the Hartwick Hawks used a goal from Kyle Honor in the 76th minute to secure full points in a 1-0 victory over visiting Coastal Carolina on Saturday. Hamish Ritchie started the play with a short pass to Elliott Bentley on the right side of the Chanticleer goal. Bentley served the ball into the box to the far post and Honor was there to get his head on it and put the ball into the far side of the net for the game’s lone tally. It marked Honor’s second game-winner of the season.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN WINS RIVALRY CONTEST VS. GEORGIA STATE
Saturday’s Georgia Southern win was the first win for the Eagles over the Panthers in Atlanta since Sept. 17, 1994. It was also the first win in the series for the Eagles since Nov. 14, 2014. Georgia State entered Saturday’s contest ninth in the NSCAA Southeast Region poll. It was the third win of the season for the Eagles over a team that was ranked in the top-10 of the Southeast Region at the time. The Eagles downed Stetson 2-1 on Sept. 2 when the Hatters were seventh in the region poll and Georgia Southern defeated North Florida 2-0 when the Ospreys were fifth in the Southeast Region.
HARTWICK HITS STRIDE
Hartwick, which is ranked sixth in the latest NSCAA Southeast poll, improved to 7-1-2 overall. The Hawks have now won five straight matches and are unbeaten in their last eight contests (6-0-2). In addition, Hartwick extends its winning streak against Sun Belt opposition to 13 games dating back to the 2014 season.
APP STATE’S OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
Since the Mountaineers’ first win back on Sept. 13, the team has found its rhythm at the right time heading into conference play. Appalachian has scored 10 goals since the win off six assists, totaling 92 shots (36 on goal – .391). The Black and Gold have gone 4-1-2 and are unbeaten in their last five matches, outshooting opponents 92-61 with a 36-31 advantage on goal. The win over Howard marked the first time that App State won its Sun Belt opener since joining the conference.
SUN BELT ENTERS YEAR 23 OF MEN’S SOCCER
The Sun Belt Conference began its third consecutive year of play as a men’s soccer conference last weekend after resuming the sport in 2014. The 2016 season marks the 23rd overall for men’s soccer in the league as it was sponsored from 1976-95. The announcement was made on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, that the conference would reintroduce men’s soccer. In fact, the first ever Sun Belt Championship in any sport was the 1976 men’s soccer championship.