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Pete ThamelESPN
After pulling a historic upset at No. 6 Texas A&M on Saturday, the Appalachian State soccer crew did not get to have a good time again house in Boone, North Carolina.
Mechanical points with the crew constitution compelled the Appalachian State crew to spend the evening on the lodge the place they’d slept the earlier evening in Faculty Station, a crew spokesperson advised ESPN. With the lodge bought out, the crew unfold out in numerous hallways, convention rooms and the foyer space.
The crew spent about three hours on Saturday evening on the airport earlier than returning to the lodge round midnight. That they had an unofficial 3:30 a.m. wake-up earlier than returning to the airport, the place they boarded a flight at 4:30 a.m.
The crew flew to Charlotte on Sunday morning. They landed round 8:30 a.m., and the 5 crew buses have been anticipated to get to Boone, which is about two hours away, round 11 a.m.
Whereas the delay was a slog, it would be tough to dampen the spirit of crew and workers. They pulled off what might be remembered because the second-biggest upset in class historical past, beautiful a Texas A&M program that had been stockpiling proficient recruits and had coaches and directors participating in a verbal joust with Alabama coach Nick Saban this offseason. As a substitute, the Aggies grew to become the second top-10 crew to lose to a program from the Solar Belt on Saturday, as Marshall toppled No. 8 Notre Dame.
Whereas making an attempt to attend out the mechanical points on Saturday evening, coach Shawn Clark was knowledgeable this system could be internet hosting ESPN’s Faculty GameDay for the primary time on Saturday. Clark is a 1998 Appalachian State graduate who took over in 2020 and has been on the workers for seven seasons.
Appalachian State entered the sport coming off a heartbreaking loss to North Carolina, which noticed the Mountaineers rating 40 factors within the fourth quarter and nonetheless lose 63-61.
On Saturday, the Mountaineers performed keep-away, holding the ball for 41 minutes and 29 seconds. The sport plan by coordinator Kevin Barbary and turnover-free execution by quarterback Chase Brice and tailback Camerun Peoples (112 yards on 19 carries) allowed Appalachian State to soften the clock. That included second-half drives of 11 performs and 18 performs that drained greater than quarter-hour off the clock.
Appalachian State burst onto the nationwide sporting consciousness when it upset No. 5 Michigan in 2007, when the college was nonetheless an FCS program. The win over Texas A&M marked the third victory over a ranked opponent in class historical past.
Appalachian State has a wealthy historical past, as the college received three FCS titles earlier than transferring as much as FBS play lower than a decade in the past. Former head coaches there embody Jerry Moore, who received the three titles, and Mack Brown (UNC), Eliah Drinkwitz (Missouri) and Scott Satterfield (Louisville).
Texas A&M paid $1.5 million to play Appalachian State.