Final box (pdf)
BOONE, N.C. – For the third time in four years, the Coastal Carolina University men's soccer program will play for the Sun Belt Conference Championship title after their 2-1 win over Appalachian State in tonight's semifinal round.
The Chants struck early and often in scoring two goals within the first 10 minutes of the opening half.
Kasper Skraep started the scoring when he headed in a shot in the fifth minute. It was Skraep's first goal of the season.
The Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year
Sam Snaith got into the scoring act at the 9:48 mark when he headed in an assist from
Morten Timm on a corner kick for the quick 2-0 lead. It was Snaith's team-leading seventh goal of the season.
The Chants had plenty of other chances to score in the opening 45 minutes, but Appalachian State's goalkeeper Jacob Madden came up with two first-half saves to keep the score at 2-0 heading into the second half.
CCU kept the offensive pressure on early in the second half and at one time held a 9-4 edge in shots, but the Mountaineers, playing on their home field, started to pick up the pressure midway through the second half.
Finally Appalachian State broke through on a header from Zeiko Harris off a free kick from Dimitris Moraitakis to cut the lead to 2-1 with just over 13 minutes left.
CCU was able to hang on despite the Mountaineers taking over in the second half to out shoot CCU 9-4, but CCU goalkeeper
Alberto Ciroi showed why he was a secon-team All-Sun Belt pick by coming up with three saves and helping preserve the CCU victory.
The win was CCU's third consecutive win, which is a team-high. CCU is now 5-1 in its last six matches.
The Chants will now face old nemesis Georgia State in the championship match. The two teams have faced each other in each of the previous three Sun Belt Conference Championships with CCU winning two of those for the titles. CCU defeated Georgia State for the title in both 2016 (1-0) and 2017 (2-0).
Last year, Georgia State turned the tables in defeating CCU 2-1 in the semifinals. Georgia State played their way into the championship as the fifth-seed by defeating Georgia Southern 4-0 in the opening round and then upset top-seed Central Arkansas 1-0 in the earlier semifinal round.
The championship match is scheduled to begin Sunday, Nov. 17 at 1 p.m. Links for the video feed and live stats will be available at GoCCUsports.com.
For complete coverage of CCU men's soccer, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMSoccer (twitter), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram) or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com.
