Men's Soccer 10/8/2021 1:38:00 PM

Men's Soccer Continues MAC Play at Akron Saturday

ATLANTA – Looking to bounce back from a tough loss on Thursday night, the Georgia State men's soccer team will conclude its conference opening road swing traveling to Akron, Ohio, to face Akron on Saturday night at FirstEnergy Stadium at 7 p.m.

Georgia State (7-3-0, 0-1-0 MAC) saw its four-game winning streak snapped at Bowling Green on Thursday night. Now the Panthers turn their attention to Akron (6-2-2, 1-0-1 MAC) which is receiving votes in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll and has been ranked among the top 25 for most of the season.

Despite the loss on Thursday, the Panthers five road wins are tied for the most in the country with nine other schools, including new conference foe Northern Illinois.

In Georgia State's 10 matches, the Panthers have scored 22 goals and allowed just 13, a plus-9 goal differential that is tied for the 40^th-best in the country. Of interesting note, five of those 13 goals allowed have come via penalty kicks.
The Panthers are ranked No. 25 in the country with 22 goals scored, averaging 2.20 goals per game which also ranks No. 28 in the NCAA.

Freshman Ethan Sassine continues to lead the Panthers with four goals and eight total points, while Justin Guest and Matthew Fearnley have each scored three goals this year for GSU.

The game will air live on ESPN3.

MATCH NOTES

Georgia State concludes a stretch of three-straight road games on Saturday night at Akron.
The Panthers made their Mid-American Conference (MAC) debut on Thursday night falling to (rv) Bowling Green 3-2. This will mark the second of six league games leading up to the conference championship in mid-November.
Georgia State and Akron will be meeting for the first time on the pitch.
The Panthers have gone 5-2 on the road this season while outscoring their opponents 15-9.
Georgia State saw its four-match winning streak snapped on Thursday which at the time was the 11th-longest in the nation.

NEW HOMES

Georgia State has a pair of new homes this season. The Panthers opened the new GSU Soccer Complex at 188 MLK Jr. Drive SE earlier this summer. The location previously housed the Georgia State Football team for 10 years.
The Panthers second new home this year is the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Panthers along with in-state rival Georgia Southern joined the league earlier this summer. In fitting fashion, the two schools will face off in the final match of the regular season.

QUICK HITS

In Georgia State's win at UAB, the Panthers picked up the 500th win in program history.
As of Friday, Georgia State is tied for the most road wins (5) of any team in the country. GSU is tied with New Hampshire, James Madison, Northern Illinois, Hofstra, LMU (CA), UMass, Northeastern, Binghamton, and Cal Baptist.
Freshman Ethan Sassine apparently likes to wait late in games to do his damage. He recorded the game-winner against Wofford with just 89 seconds to play. He scored an open net goal with four seconds to play in a 2-0 win over Davidson. He has now scored in three of the last five games and leads the Panthers with four goals this season.
Georgia State's +9 goal differential is tied for the 40th-best mark in the NCAA.
The Panthers are averaging 2.20 goals per game which ranks 28th in the nation.
Senior defender George Proctor has found the back of the net twice this year with both goals coming via penalty kick. The reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year has made two of his three attempts this year.
Senior Matthew Fearnley became the first CoSIDA Academic All-American in program history last spring, while both he and fellow senior Logan Luque earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. Fearnley shared the team lead with five goals scored. He has three goals this year which is tied for second on the team. He is now one of 30 nominees for the Senior CLASS Award.
Despite 17 upperclassmen on the team this year, freshmen have already been making an impact. Sassine leads the Panthers with four goals, Jordan Beam and Bryan Silva have both scored their first collegiate goals this year.

EXHIBITION PLAY

Georgia State finished exhibition play with a 1-0-2 record with a 2-1 win at Presbyterian College, along with 0-0 draws against No. 6 Clemson (now No. 2) and Clayton State.
In the win against the Blue Hose, it was a pair of newcomers getting the goals. Graduate transfer Iolo Jones got the Panthers on the board in the first half, and it was freshman Ethan Sassine who proved to have the game winning goal in the second half.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START, BUT HOW YOU FINISH

Georgia State enters the Mid-American Conference as one of the newbies along with Georgia Southern. Despite playing in six-straight conference tournament championship games and making an appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the Panthers were selected sixth in the annual MAC Preseason Poll as selected by the coaches.

2021 MAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
1. West Virginia - 40 (3)
2. Akron - 39 (1)
3. Bowling Green - 38 (2)
4. Western Michigan - 30 (1)
5. NIU – 22
6. Georgia State - 17
7. Georgia Southern - 10
(*) First Place Votes
MAC Champion: WVU (3), BGSU (2), WMU (1) Akron (1)

REACHING TRIPLE DIGITS

GSU head coach Brett Surrency reached the 100-win plateau in the regular season finale of the 2019 season. He had led GSU to 11 or more wins in three consecutive seasons for last season where the Panthers played only 13 matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He 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 history (117), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

WHAT'S NEXT

? Georgia State will return home for the start of a three game homestand jumping back into non-conference play for the final time this year hosting ETSU on Tuesday night at 7 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Matthew Fearnley: M; 5' 11"; Senior

#15 Justin Guest: M; 5' 9"; Junior

#23 Logan Luque: M; 5' 10"; Senior

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

#14 Bryan Silva: MF; 5' 8"; Freshman

#19 Ethan Sassine: F; 5' 10"; Freshman

#28 Jordan Beam: MF; 5' 7"; Freshman

#3 Iolo Jones: MF; 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#10 Matthew Fearnley
: 5' 11"; Senior
: M

#15 Justin Guest
: 5' 9"; Junior
: M

#23 Logan Luque
: 5' 10"; Senior
: M

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

#14 Bryan Silva
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: MF

#19 Ethan Sassine
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: F

#28 Jordan Beam
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: MF

#3 Iolo Jones
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student
: MF