ATLANTA - In the final road match of the season, the Georgia State men's soccer team was defeated by No. 17 North Carolina, 1-0, Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, N.C. The Panthers slip to 8-9-1 this season while the Tar Heels improve to 8-3-5.
The Tar Heels went on the attack first with a pair of shots in the 8th and 10th minutes but both were off target. After three more shots off target, North Carolina grabbed a 1-0 lead when Tyler Engel found the back of the net in the 22nd minute. Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler passed to Engel, who scored his sixth goal of the season past GSU goalkeeper CJ Cochran.
Only 30 seconds later, Georgia State's Cory Plasker attempted the Panthers' first shot of the match but it was high. In the 42nd minute, North Carolina's Omar Holness fired a shot on goal that forced Cochran to make a save to keep the score 1-0 in favor of the Tar Heels.
At the half, UNC held the edge in shots (8-1) and corner kicks taken (1-0).
In the first six minutes of the second half both teams went on the attack. First in the 48th minute, Holness took a shot but it was high. One minute later, Ali Elkhalil attempted a header but it was off target. Cochran made his second save of the match in the 51st minute on a shot by Verneri Valimaa.
Over the next 30 minutes, Cochran recorded three saves on attempts by Alex Olofson, Warren Marshall and Raby George respectively. GSU's final attacking chance came in the 90th minute, but Amiri Abraham's shot was wide.
Georgia State's goalie CJ Cochran falls to 7-8-1. He recorded five saves on 17 shots faced. North Carolina's Brendan Moore earned the win to improve to 8-3-5 and he and his team recorded his ninth shutout this season.
This was Georgia State's third match this season with a top 25 team, but its first loss. GSU had tied Washington and defeated Furman earlier this season.
The Panthers return to Atlanta for their regular season finale on Nov. 15 against the Belmont Bruins. GSU will honor its trio of seniors: Jamal Keene, Caleb Kernan and Michael Nwiloh, before the match which is set to begin at 7 p.m.
