LEXINGTON, Ky. – In the team's final exhibition of the preseason, the Georgia State men's soccer team defeated Kentucky 1-0 in Lexington, Ky., Saturday night. A 44th minute game-winner by Eddie Wilding was the difference and goalkeeper CJ Cochran earned the shutout with six saves.
“We are ending the preseason on a positive,” head coach Brett Surrency said. “We had to work hard for the result earning a 1-0 win. Now we must turn our attention to the regular season against a difficult in-state rival in Mercer.”
“This is an incredibly competitive group in terms of starting spots,” Surrency said. “We will have to use this week to determine who are the best 11 is but I am so proud of the way the guys have competed this preseason. They are all working hard and have brought the right attitude and we want to continue that into the regular season.”
For the majority of the first half neither team was able to beat goalkeepers Cochran and Kentucky's Stuart Ford.
- GSU went on the attack first when Amiri Abraham forced Ford to make a save in the 7th minute.
- Kentucky's Kristopher Tollefsen then fired a shot on goal in the 23rd minute but Cochran was there to make his first save of the night.
- Stephen McGill tried his luck against Ford in the 30th minute but the Wildcat was up to the task to keep the game scoreless.
- In the 41st minute, Jad Elkhalil sent a shot on target but he too was unable to beat Ford.
Three minutes later Georgia State final beat Ford to take a 1-0 lead. After a deflection the ball, Eddie Wilding led a quick counter attack. He fired a shot from the corner of the 18-yard box across goal and past Ford into the bottom corner.
- At the break, Kentucky held a 7-5 edge in shots but the Panthers led on the scoreboard 1-0.
Kentucky started the second half fast forcing Cochran to make another save on a shot by Justin Laird in the 46th minute. In the 58th minute, Napo Matsoso fired a shot off the crossbar and in the resulting scramble the Wildcats were awarded a penalty. However, Cochran made a great save on Tollefsen's spot kick. On the ensuing corner, Cochran made another save on Laird's attempt to protect GSU's lead.
“I decided during his run-up that I thought he would go to my right,” Cochran said. “So I dove that way and was able to get a strong hand on it to push it out for a corner.”
“CJ made a very good save on the PK and did a great job of managing the game,” Surrency said. “We were able to play 20 players tonight and guys like CJ, Stephen McGill, Bo Stroup and Conor Acheson all stepped up to help show the younger players the ropes.”
Over the next 10 minutes both teams earned corner kicks but neither was able to create a scoring chance. In the 78th minute, Cochran was called into action to make another save on a shot by Jason Pitts.
Kentucky's final chance came in the 85th minute when Hampus Agerstrom tested Cochran but the Panther keeper made the save to protect the lead and complete the shutout. No shots were attempted in the final five minutes as GSU clinched the 1-0 win.
- Georgia State did not attempted a shot in the second half while Kentucky fired 12.
- Cochran finished with six saves on 19 shots faced en route to his first shutout since a 2-0 win over No. 9 Furman last season on Oct. 23.
- The Panthers now shift their focus to the regular-season opener against in-state rival Mercer on Friday, Aug. 29. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. in Macon, Ga.
“The Sun Belt is going to be very tough this year,” Cochran said. “We know that every match matters so it was very good to get a win against a good Kentucky team that will do well this season. We are excited to open the season against a rival like Mercer. We are excited for the games to count and Mercer is always a tough match-up. It will be a good measuring stick going into the rest of the season.”
