Junior Apryl Goodwin scored her fourth goal of the year on a Sarah Bennett assist as Georgia State earned a 1-1 draw in double overtime against Mercer in Macon, Ga. on Sunday. The loss moves the Panthers to 6-1-1 as they head to conference play.

Georgia State head coach Domenic Martelli filed an official protest on the circumstances surrounding Mercer's free kick that led to a go-ahead goal in overtime. Martelli is protesting the referees' decision to give Mercer a free kick rather than a dropped ball after play was stopped due to an injury. On Friday, September 25th, the NCAA ruled in favor of Martelli's protest.

"It was a very even game across the board, very hard-fought," said Martelli. "We played well at times. I was really proud of the girls to have that kind of an effort for 103 minutes."

After a scoreless first half, Georgia State fell behind 1-0 on a goal by Mercer's Olivia Tucker in the 52nd minute. The goal snapped a 230-minute scoreless streak for the Panthers' defense.

Georgia State evened the score in the 66th minute on Goodwin's goal. Freshman Sarah Bennett found Goodwin on a cross to earn credit for an assist on the play.

Goodwin capped a successful weekend with the goal, scoring a combined six points in two games. Bennett's assist gives her a team-leading 12 points.

The game remained even through regulation and one overtime period before Mercer's Sarah Elliot scored on the controversial free kick. Domenic Martelli responded to the goal by leaving his players on the field and filing a formal protest with the officials.

Heidi Blankenship made seven saves in 120 minutes in goal, allowing a pair of goals.

"Moving on from here, we're 0-0 heading into conference," said Martelli. "We're looking forward to playing in conference. I've think we've done the best we could to prepare ourselves for our upcoming schedule."

Georgia State opens conference play Thursday at 2 p.m. as they play host to Old Dominion before travelling to William & Mary for a 2 p.m. Sunday match.