Sophomore midfielder Kristian Lee-Him's 70th minute goal gave Appalachian State University men's soccer a late lead as the Mountaineers captured its first Southern Conference victory of the season, defeating Wofford 2-1 Tuesday night at Snyder Field.
With the victory, the Mountaineers improve to 6-7-3 on the season and 1-3-2 in the SoCon while Wofford drops to 9-7 and 2-3 in league play.
Appalachian got on the scoreboard first in the 26th minute as sophomore Luke Adams sent in a free kick to the back post. Junior defender Harrison Delbridge, who came up from the backline, flicked a shot past Wofford goalkeeper Andrew Drennan to take a 1-0 lead. For Delbridge, the opening goal was his second of the season.
As it looked like the Mountaineers would take the lead into halftime, the Terriers struck with just 20 seconds left in the opening half. Alex Hutchins, who leads Wofford in goals, tapped in a shot past App State goalkeeper Danny Free for his 11th goal of the year. Nestor Jaramillo and Forrest Lasso were credited with the assists.
After an aggressive start to the second half that saw two yellow cards and nine fouls in the opening 11 minutes, Lee-Him received a pass from freshman Alex Herbst and fired in the clinching goal in the 70th minute. For Lee-Him, it was his second goal of the season and his second game-winner after scoring the game-winning goal against Richmond earlier this season.
The backline solidified the victory in the final twenty minutes, limiting Wofford to just two shots for the rest of the match.
The Apps outshot the Terriers, 7-6, as senior Joshiah Trower lead the team with two. Free made three saves as WC managed just four shots on goal for the night.
Appalachian returns to the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex on Saturday, Oct. 27 for senior day and the regular season finale against Davidson. Kickoff against the Wildcats is set for 7 p.m.