Daniel Wilson

Men's Soccer 11/20/2021 8:33:00 AM

Men's Soccer Faces No. 3 seed Georgetown Sunday in NCAA Tournament Round of 32

ATLANTA – Coming off the first NCAA Tournament win in program history, the Georgia State men's soccer team will look to keep its postseason run going facing No. 3-seed Georgetown on Sunday morning at 11 a.m., at Shaw Field in Washington, D.C.

After earning its fifth bid to the NCAA Tournament, Georgia State (13-6) pulled off a remarkable 1-0 win at Charlotte on Thursday as senior captain George Proctor found the back of the net in the middle of the first half. Now the Panthers face a Georgetown (16-2) squad that won the national championship just two years ago.

For the first time in program history, Georgia State defeated multiple ranked opponents in the same season, topping No. 13 Akron on Oct. 9, and then defeating No. 14 West Virginia 1-0 in the semifinals of the MAC Championship. The Panthers faced a total of five ranked opponents this year and another which was receiving votes.

This will mark the first time the Panthers and Hoyas meet on the pitch. It will also mark just the third time playing a current member of the Big East, the last being Providence in 2016.

Georgia State just finished its first season in the Mid-American Conference and qualified for a seventh-straight conference tournament championship game. Five of the seven MAC schools qualified for the NCAA Tournament and four of them remain alive for the national championship. The Panthers own a 4-4 record against teams that qualified for the championship this year.

Freshman Ethan Sassine, who earned All-MAC Second Team honors, along with junior Max Wilkins lead Georgia State with six goals each, while Justin Guest and George Proctor each have five to help lead a balanced scoring attack as 12 different players scored at least one goal this season.

All-MAC First Team and MAC All-Tournament member Gunther Rankenburg has started every minute in goal for the Panthers this year and has 66 saves which is tops in the MAC. He has also helped pitch six shutouts this season.

MATCH NOTES

Georgia State earned its first-ever NCAA Tournament win with a 1-0 victory at Charlotte on Thursday night. Now GSU will face No. 3-seed Georgetown for the first time in program history.
Prior to Thursday, Georgia State made the NCAA Play-in game in 1997 (vs. Howard) and 2000 (vs. Rhode Island), before also receiving an at-large bid in 2011 (at No. 24 Duke) and then the most recent appearance in 2018 which was also against Charlotte.
Georgia State's 13 wins are the most for the program since winning 14 matches during the 2016 season. The 13 wins are tied for the sixth-most in a single-season in school history.
GSU is one of just 20 programs in the country to have reached 13 or more wins so far this season as of standings following the First Round of the NCAA Tournament.
This marks the second time in three years and third time in five years the Panthers have won at least 12 matches. GSU didn't accomplish it last year but played just 13 matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Georgia State has defeated two ranked opponents this season (#13 Akron and #14 West Virginia). It marks the first time in program history defeating two ranked opponents in the same season. The Panthers now have eight wins all-time over ranked opponents.
Georgetown enters the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3-seed, however were ranked No. 2 in the last College Soccer News Top 30 poll. Georgia State's highest-ranked win all-time came over No. 2 Wake Forest on Sept. 5, 2017.

QUICK HITS

Four of Georgia State's last six matches have come against ranked opponents including a 2-1 double-overtime loss to No. 19 Northern Illinois in the MAC Championship.
In the month of October, the Panthers faced four teams either ranked or receiving votes in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll.
As of Friday, Georgia State is tied for the fourth-most road wins (7) of any team in the country. Washington, New Hampshire, and LMU (CA) leads the way with eight.
Georgia State's +14 goal differential is tied for the 37th-best mark in the NCAA.
The Panthers are averaging 1.89 goals per game which ranks 39th in the nation.
Matthew Fearnley became the first CoSIDA Academic All-American in program history last spring, and was named CoSIDA Academic All-District last Thursday. He is also one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.

AGAINST THE NCAA FIELD

With the win over Charlotte, Georgia State is now 4-4 against the 2021 NCAA Tournament field this year. Six of those matches came against MAC opponents as five members of the league earned tournament bids. The Panthers one non-conference opponent who made the tournament was Mercer. Entering the Round of 32, four MAC teams still remain in the championship.
The Panthers earned wins over Akron (3-1), Charlotte (1-0), Mercer (1-0), and West Virginia (1-0).

TOP HONORS

GSU saw four players earn All-MAC honors this year. George Proctor and Gunther Rankenburg earned All-MAC First Team honors. Proctor was the Sun Belt Player of the Year as well as Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Junior Ross Finnie and freshman Ethan Sassine earned All-MAC Second Team honors. Sassine led the Panthers with six goals and 13 total points this year. It marks the third time Finnie has earned all-conference honors.
Rankenburg, along with Ramon Munoz and Logan Luque all earned MAC All-Tournament recognition following their play in the conference tournament last weekend.

NEW HOMES

GSU has a pair of new homes this season. GSU opened the new GSU Soccer Complex at 188 MLK Jr. Drive SE in August. The location previously housed the GSU 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 faced off in the final match of the regular season won by the Panthers to send GSU to the MAC Tournament.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START, BUT HOW YOU FINISH
? GSU left its marks on the MAC in Year 1. Despite playing in six-straight conference tournament championship games, GSU was selected sixth in the annual MAC Preseason Poll.
2021 MAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll (regular season finish in BOLD)
1. West Virginia - 40 (3) 2
2. Akron - 39 (1) 6
3. Bowling Green - 38 (2) 4
4. Western Michigan - 30 (1) 5
5. NIU - 22 1
6. Georgia State - 17 3
7. Georgia Southern - 10 7
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 before last season where the Panthers played only 13 matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Surrency is currently the second-winningest head coach in GSU history (123), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

WHAT'S NEXT

With a win, Georgia State would advance to the Sweet 16 and face either No. 14-seed Marshall or Providence.

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Players Mentioned

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

#4 Ross Finnie: M; 5' 9"; Junior

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

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

#21 Ramon Munoz: D; 6' 2"; Junior

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

#1 Gunther Rankenburg: GK; 6' 3"; Junior

#9 Max Wilkins: F; 6' 2"; Junior

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

Players Mentioned

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

#4 Ross Finnie
: 5' 9"; Junior
: M

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

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

#21 Ramon Munoz
: 6' 2"; Junior
: D

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

#1 Gunther Rankenburg
: 6' 3"; Junior
: GK

#9 Max Wilkins
: 6' 2"; Junior
: F

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