Rivalry Showdown as Men's Soccer Faces Mercer Sunday

The two teams will be meeting for the 60th time

ATLANTA – Taking to the road for the first time this year, the Georgia State men's soccer team will travel south on I-75 to Macon to face Mercer on Sunday night at 6 p.m., at Betts Stadium.

Georgia State (0-1) will be facing Mercer (1-0) for the 60^th time and currently holds a 38-18-3 advantage in the series having won five-straight.

The Panthers dropped a 3-1 opening night decision to UNF after allowing two penalty kicks and playing without Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year George Proctor who missed the game after garnering a red card in the conference tournament championship game last fall.

Georgia State returns a talented group from last year that includes nine seniors and 17 total upperclassmen. Senior Matthew Fearnley, who tied for the team lead last year with five goals and earned CoSIDA Academic All-American honors, the first in program history, will be looking to build upon a sixth-straight conference tournament championship game appearance while joining a new league, the Mid-American Conference.

MATCH NOTES
? In-state rivals Georgia State and Mercer will meet for the 60th time on Sunday night. The Panthers have faced the Bears more than any other opponent in program history.
? Georgia State leads the all-time series 38-18-3 including taking two matches last fall during the COVID-19 shortened season.
? Georgia State has won five-straight in the series dating back to a loss in the 2016 opener.
? Despite dominating the overall series, the two teams are tied 13-13-1 in Macon in a series that dates to 1972.

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
? Georgia State dropped its regular season home opener for the first time in six years with a 3-1 loss to UNF on Thursday night.
? In the opener, freshman Jordan Beam scored his first collegiate goal, however, the Panthers gave up two penalty kicks which proved too much to overcome.
? The Panthers played the opener without the services of Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year George Proctor who missed the game after collecting a red card in the conference tournament championship game last fall.
? 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.
? Although Georgia State returns a great deal of its production from last year, there will be two big missing pieces this season. Senior Aris Briggs was drafted by Real Salt Lake in the third round of the MLS Draft and fellow senior goalkeeper Paul Tyson graduated and elected to turn pro. Briggs shared the team lead with five goals, while Tyson went 7-1-2 in goal and pitched five shutouts.

THE LATEST
? 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 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 (110), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

WHAT'S NEXT
? Georgia State will return to the road to face USC Upstate next Saturday in Spartanburg, S.C., for a 7 p.m. match.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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