Daniel Wilson

Men's Soccer 11/3/2021 9:40:00 AM

THERSday Night Soccer Under The Lights Against Rival Georgia Southern

ATLANTA – Faced with a must win situation to claim a spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament, the Georgia State men's soccer team will host rival Georgia Southern for Senior Day on Thursday at 7 p.m., at the new GSU Soccer Complex.

To qualify for next week's conference championship hosted by top-seed Northern Illinois, Georgia State (10-5-0, 2-3-0 MAC) must defeat Georgia Southern (4-11-1, 0-4-1 MAC) and then get some help. The Panthers need either West Virginia to defeat Bowling Green (Thurs., 7 p.m.) or Western Michigan to defeat Akron (Thurs., 3:30 p.m.) for the season to continue as one of the top four seeds next week.

Georgia State has won three-straight meetings over Georgia Southern and own a 30-11-6 record all time against the Eagles.

The Panthers are coming off back-to-back heartbreaking losses to teams ranked in the top 25, including a 2-1 loss to No. 19 West Virginia last Thursday.

In Georgia State's 15 matches, the Panthers have scored 31 goals and allowed just 19, a plus-12 goal differential that is tied for the 44th-best in the country. Of interesting note, five of those 19 goals allowed have come via penalty kicks.
The Panthers are ranked No. 31 in the country with 31 goals scored, averaging 2.07 goals per game which ranks No. 28 in the NCAA.

Freshman Ethan Sassine leads Georgia State with six goals and 13 total points this year. Four Panthers: Salar Faryar, Justin Guest, George Proctor, and Max Wilkins have each scored four goals each this year.

Goalkeeper Gunther Rankenburg has 51 saves this year which is tops in the MAC.

MATCH NOTES

Georgia State closes out the regular season hosting in-state rival Georgia Southern for the first time as MAC opponents having won three-straight matches in the series.
The Panthers own a 30-11-6 all-time record against the Eagles including a pair of shutouts last season (10/4, 2-0 in Atlanta and 10/16, 3-0 in Statesboro).
Georgia State is in a must win situation on Thursday night. The Panthers need to defeat the Eagles and then have either West Virginia beat Bowling Green or Western Michigan defeat Akron for GSU to qualify for the MAC Tournament which will be hosted by top seed Northern Illinois next week.
GSU is 4-2 at home this season having outscored their opponents 12-7 in those games.
The Panthers are one of just 40 programs in the country to have reached 10 or more wins so far this season as of standings on Tuesday morning.

NEW HOMES

Georgia State 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 are facing off in the final match of the regular season.

QUICK HITS

Last time out, Georgia State lost to No. 19 West Virginia 2-1 in heartbreaking fashion. After taking a 1-0 lead on a George Proctor PK, the Mountaineers picked up a goal in the 58th minute and then the game winner with less than two minutes to play.
Having already picked up their 10th win of the season, GSU has now won at least 10 matches in five of the last six seasons. The lone year Georgia State did not win 10 matches was last year when the program went 9-2-2 due to a shortened schedule because of COVID-19.
In the month of October, the Panthers faced four teams either ranked or receiving votes in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll. Georgia State picked up a win over No. 13 Akron which was the first MAC win this year and seventh time in program history defeating a ranked opponent.
In Georgia State's win at UAB in September, GSU picked up the 500th win in program history.
As of Tuesday, Georgia State is tied for the fourth-most road wins (6) of any team in the country. New Hampshire, LMU (CA), and Cal Baptist currently lead with 7, while GSU is tied with Washington, Marshall, Hofstra, Northern Illinois, Grand Canyton, UMass, Davidson, and Vermont.
Georgia State's +12 goal differential is tied for the 44th-best mark in the NCAA.
The Panthers are averaging 2.07 goals per game which ranks 28th in the nation.
Senior defender George Proctor has found the back of the net four times this year with all four 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 four of his five 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 fourth on the team. He is now one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.
Despite 17 upperclassmen on the team this year, freshmen have already been making an impact. Ethan Sassine shares the team lead with six goals, while 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 before 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 (120), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

WHAT'S NEXT

With a win and some help, Georgia State will advance to the MAC Tournament hosted by top seed Northern Illinois next week. With a loss, the Panthers season will come to an end.

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Players Mentioned

#7 Salar Faryar: F; 5' 8"; Graduate Student

#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

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

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

#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

#7 Salar Faryar
: 5' 8"; Graduate Student
: F

#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

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

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

#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