Matthew Fearnley, Aris Briggs, and Simon Carlson

Bree Hicken

Men's Soccer 10/15/2020 2:00:00 PM

#StateNotSouthern: Men's Soccer Heads to Statesboro Friday

ATLANTA – Looking to sweep the regular season series the Georgia State men's soccer team will make the trip south to face in-state rival Georgia Southern on Friday night at 7 p.m., live on ESPN+ at Eagle Field.

Following Georgia State's (6-1, 1-1 Sun Belt) first loss of the season last Saturday, the Panthers responded with a dominating performance again UAB on Tuesday night and will look to take that momentum to Statesboro.

Senior Aris Briggs continues to lead the NCAA in goals (5) and points (13), while the Panthers are doing the same as a team while outscoring their opponents 17-4.

Georgia Southern (1-4, 0-2 Sun Belt) enters the match on a two-game losing streak, including a 2-0 loss to Georgia State on Oct. 4.

#STATENOTSOUTHERN

Georgia State returns to Sun Belt Conference play making the trip to Statesboro looking to sweep Georgia Southern on Friday night.
The Panthers topped the Eagles 2-1 on Oct. 4. Aris Briggs and Matthew Fearnley scored while Gunther Rankenburg pitched a shutout in goal.
Georgia State leads the all-time series with the Eagles 29-11-6, including a 7-4-5 mark in Statesboro.
The Panthers split a pair of matches with the Eagles last season. Georgia State won 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but Georgia Southern got the best of State with a 2-1 win in Atlanta on Oct. 12.
The last time the two teams met in Statesboro the match resulted in a 1-1 tie on Oct. 20, 2018.

THE LATEST

After recording its first loss of the season, Georgia State responded on Tuesday night with a 4-1 win at UAB.
The Panthers 5-0 start to the season matched the best in program history.
Georgia State has allowed just two goals in the last 472 minutes of action.
In GSU's first seven matches, eight different players have scored goals. Aris Briggs has five goals, while Matthew Fearnley has three goals. Jeryn Hodge, Justin Guest, and Logan Luque have each scored twice, while Simon Carlson, Ross Finnie, and Max Wilkins have each scored once.
Last week, for a third-straight week, Georgia State swept Sun Belt Conference weekly honors. Aris Briggs (Offensive) and Gunther Rankenburg (Defensive) garnered recognition on Wednesday, Oct. 7. It was Briggs' second honor of the year.
Georgia State was named the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week on Sept. 21, following the Panthers 2-1 season opening win over Mercer.
Georgia State has gotten off to great starts in back-to-back seasons. Last season the Panthers started 6-0-3 before sustaining their first loss. This year the squad is 5-1 to start the season.

QUICK HITS

Entering Thursday, Georgia State leads the nation with 17 goals and 44 total points.
Senior forward Aris Briggs leads the NCAA with 13 points and five goals. Matthew Fearnley leads the nation with a pair of game-winning goals and sophomore Gunther Rankenburg is tied for the national lead with two shutouts.
Last year Aris Briggs finished with 16 goals and one assist for 33 total points. His 16 goals ranked seventh among all players in Division I men's soccer and ranked tied for ninth in the GSU record book for goals scored in a single season. He led the Sun Belt in total points (33), points per game (1.65), goals (16), goals per game (0.80).
GSU has appeared in five-straight Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship Games, last earning the title in 2018 before appearing in the NCAA Tournament.

SUN BELT WEEKLY HONORS

GSU has swept the Sun Belt weekly honors in the first three weeks of the year.
Aris Briggs and Paul Tyson earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors on Sept. 23, following a 2-1 win over Mercer to start the season. Briggs finished with two goals, while Tyson made seven saves keeping the Bears off the scoreboard in the first half. It marked the second time that Briggs was honored in his career and the fourth time that Tyson was recognized.
Matthew Fearnley and George Proctor swept the Week 2 awards. Fearnley scored the first goal of Georgia State's 3-1 win over South Carolina, while Proctor impressed on the backline that allowed just one late Gamecock goal.
Briggs and sophomore Gunther Rankenburg swept the honors in Week 3 after the Panthers earned wins over UAB and Georgia Southern. Rankenburg pitched shutouts in both matches while Briggs finished with a goal and two assists.

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES

Georgia State had four players named to the 2020 All-Sun Belt Preseason recognition, including Aris Briggs, Matthew Fernley, Ross Finnie, and Paul Tyson. Briggs was named the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. He and Tyson have earned preseason recognition in each of the last two seasons.

TYSON NAMED TOP 10 GOALKEEPER BY TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM

Georgia State senior goalkeeper Paul Tyson has been named one of the top 10 goalkeepers in the country entering the 2020 season by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
Tyson, a native of Liverpool, England, earned 2019 Sun Belt All-Tournament Team honors last year after guiding the Panthers to a fifth-straight Sun Belt Conference Championship Game appearance.

REACHING TRIPLE DIGITS

GSU head coach Brett Surrency reached the 100-win plateau in the regular season finale last year. He has led GSU to 11 or more wins in three consecutive seasons and is the only coach in GSU history to take the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament.
Surrency is currently the second-winningest head coach in GSU men's soccer history (107), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

After concluding a stretch of three matches in seven days, Georgia State will have off until Oct. 24, when the Panthers will make the trip to Conway, Ark., to face Central Arkansas at 2 p.m. ET.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Paul Tyson: GK; 6' 7"; Senior

#10 Matthew Fearnley: M; 5' 10"; Junior

#4 Ross Finnie: M; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#15 Justin Guest: M; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#16 George Proctor: D; 6' 1"; Senior

#19 Max Wilkins: F; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#23 Logan Luque: M; 5' 11"; Junior

#31 Aris Briggs: F; 6' 4"; Senior

#33 Gunther Rankenburg: GK; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#12 Simon Carlson: MF; 5' 6"; Freshman

#27 Jeryn Hodge: F; 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#1 Paul Tyson
: 6' 7"; Senior
: GK

#10 Matthew Fearnley
: 5' 10"; Junior
: M

#4 Ross Finnie
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: M

#15 Justin Guest
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: M

#16 George Proctor
: 6' 1"; Senior
: D

#19 Max Wilkins
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: F

#23 Logan Luque
: 5' 11"; Junior
: M

#31 Aris Briggs
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F

#33 Gunther Rankenburg
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: GK

#12 Simon Carlson
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: MF

#27 Jeryn Hodge
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: F