The Georgia Southern Men’s Soccer team came away with a huge conference win against rival Appalachian State last Saturday at home. The highly contested matchup ended 1-0 as freshman Alfonso Ochoa scored his third goal of the season in the third minute to lift the Eagles over the Mountaineers and improve their record to 5-6-1for the season.

After the early goal by Ochoa, the game was evenly matched as both teams finished with 11 shot. Georgia Southern had five saves to the Mountaineers three. Both teams had opportunities to put more points on the board but could not find the back of the net as the game went on. “App state made the game very difficult for us but I’m proud of the guys, their tenacity and their fight and getting an important three points in conference,” Coach Kennedy said after the game. 

With their win on Saturday the Eagles are now tied with Georgia State for second in the conference behind Hartwick. This win was huge for the Eagles as it puts them in a better position to have a better seed in the Sun Belt Tournament to win the conference and get to the NCAA tournament for the first time in school history. Their defense has also played great the last couple of weeks shutting out three of the past four opponents they’ve faced with four overall in the season. “The defensive mindset has improved and guys are committed to not conceding a goal and I thought they were terrific in that standpoint” said Coach Kennedy. He loves how well his defense has been playing the past few games and hopes they can keep the intensity and then some for the games to come.

The Eagles will have more confidence going into their next stretch of games after their win over Appalachian State as they have NJIT, LIU Brooklyn, and Georgia State to end off their season before the Sun Belt Tournament. It is pivotal the Eagles keep their winning ways in the conference alive as they aim for the best seeding possible for the tournament.

Their next game is on the road at NJIT Friday October 30th. NJIT is (4-7-4) for the season and fifth in the conference.