Andrew Miller-Bell

Men's Soccer

Behind The Mask: Getting to Know Andrew Miller-Bell

ATLANTA – Andrew Miller-Bell will return to the pitch for the Georgia State men's soccer team on Friday night after an injury derailed his junior season. Injuries are a part of sport, but how Miller-Bell has worked to overcome them is what he hopes will be what define him.

"Redshirting last season was hard on me for sure," said Miller-Bell. "It's never fun when an injury forces you to stop doing something you love. At first it was hard for me to accept that I would miss the entire season. But I realized that there was no point on getting upset and dwelling on the injury. All I could do was keep moving forward.

"Since the injury, I have put in a lot for work and I think mentally I have grown because of it. My return to the field this season is going to be super important to me because I know how much work I have invested in my recovery. It is definitely going to mean a lot."

That season starts Friday night at Mercer following an off-season that everyone wondered if there would be a season. The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic shut the sports world down in March, including spring practice for the men's soccer team. However, that hasn't deterred head coach Brett Surrency's team of setting a goal of a sixth-straight Sun Belt Conference Championship Game appearance and more entering 2020.

"My goals this season for our team is to win the Sun Belt Conference, stay COVID free, and make the NCAA Tournament," Miller-Bell said. "My individual goals are to get back on the field and maintain my health. I have had some unfortunate injuries throughout my life so staying healthy throughout the season is the major goal. I think if I can achieve that everything else will fall into place."

How have the Panthers been so successful over the last five years? The senior from Gainesville, Ga., summed it up pretty easily: "I think what leads us to so much success is the bonds and culture we try to create within our team. We are a family and we always push each other to be better than we were the day before. Everyone on the team strives to be better than the person next to them and this attitude transfers over to real game situations. This is something that stood out to me when I was looking for a team to join."

After redshirting last season, Miller-Bell will now have an opportunity to truly join his teammates on Friday night as the season gets underway in Macon at 7 p.m. The game will air live on ESPN+ and is the first of what should be an exciting 11-game schedule leading up to the conference championship hosted by Georgia State in mid-November.
 
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Players Mentioned

Andrew Miller-Bell

#18 Andrew Miller-Bell

F
5' 11"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Andrew Miller-Bell

#18 Andrew Miller-Bell

5' 11"
Senior
F