Men's Soccer Concludes Road Trip at Davidson Tuesday

ATLANTA – Coming off an impressive win on Saturday night, the Georgia State men's soccer team will conclude a stretch of three-straight games away from home traveling to Davidson, N.C., to face Davidson on Wednesday night live on ESPN+ at 6 p.m., at Alumni Stadium.

Georgia State (4-2) has won four of its last five matches and is 3-1 on the road this season. It will mark the first time the Panthers have faced Davidson (4-2) since 1989.

In Georgia State's first six matches, the Panthers have scored 13 goals and allowed just eight, though in an interesting note, four of those eight goals have come via penalty kicks.

The Panthers are ranked No. 31 in the country with 13 goals scored, averaging 2.17 goals per game which ranks No. 32 in the country.

Goalkeeper Gunther Rankenburg has pitched two shutouts in Georgia State's first six matches of the year. He has also accumulated 15 saves so far this season, just one off leading the MAC.

MATCH NOTES

Georgia State concludes a stretch of three-straight games away from home traveling to Davidson, N.C., to face Davidson live on ESPN+.
The Panthers trail the all-time series with the Wildcats 3-2.
The last time the two schools met, Davidson earned a 3-2 win over GSU, however, that last match-up was in 1989.
This will mark the first time head coach Brett Surrency has faced the Wildcats.

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

Following a tough double-overtime loss to Belmont, Georgia State got back in the win column with an impressive 4-2 win over Winthrop on Saturday night.
After leading by a goal for a majority of the first half, the Panthers scored two goals in the final two minutes of the opening 45 to take a 3-0 lead into halftime and never looked back as four different Panthers scored goals.
The Panthers are 3-1 on the road this season and have outscored their opponents in those matches 8-5.
In Georgia State's 4-0 win over UNC Asheville, the Panthers scored all four goals in just over a seven-minute stretch of the second half including three goals from junior Justin Guest. The junior currently ranks No. 70 in the country with three goals scored this season.
Georgia State has allowed eight goals in the first six matches of the season, however, four of those have come via penalty kicks, including two against UNF.
In the win over Mercer, George Proctor scored on a penalty kick in the 75th minute. The reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year scored a goal in the third-straight regular season he played. The senior missed the regular season opener after picking up a red card in the conference tournament championship game last season.
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 scored his first goal of the 2021 season in the 2-1 win at USC Upstate. He is now a nominee for the Senior CLASS Award.
Despite 17 upperclassmen on the team this year, freshmen have already been making an impact. Jordan Beam and Bryan Silva have both scored their first collegiate goals this year, while Ethan Sassine has found the back of the net twice.

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 (114), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

WHAT'S NEXT

Georgia State return home to host Wofford on Saturday night at 7 p.m., at the new GSU Soccer Complex.

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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

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

#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

#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