Men's Soccer Travels to USC Upstate Saturday

ATLANTA – Looking to build some momentum off an in-state rivalry win last weekend, the Georgia State men's soccer team will head up I-85 to Spartanburg, S.C., to face USC Upstate on Saturday night at 7 p.m., at County University Soccer Stadium.

Georgia State (1-1) has never lost at USC Upstate (0-2) with three-straight wins on the road against the Spartans.

After taking an opening night loss, the Panthers bounced back with a 1-0 win over Mercer on Sunday as senior captain George Proctor scored on a penalty kick in the 75^th minute. Proctor, who earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year last season, missed the game after garnering a red card in the conference tournament championship game last fall. He has scored in three-straight regular season games dating back to last season.

USC Upstate has opened the year with two tough matches falling to NC State 2-0 and No. 6 Clemson 5-0. The Spartans last faced the Panthers in 2017 with Georgia State earning a 2-0 win.

MATCH NOTES
? Georgia State will play its second-straight road game opening the month of September at USC Upstate.
? The Panthers lead the all-time series with the Spartans 6-3-1, including a 3-0 record in Spartanburg.
? Georgia State and USC Upstate last met in the second game of the 2017 season with the Panthers earning a 2-0 victory.
? The Panthers and Spartans already have a common opponent this year in Clemson. The Panthers tied the Tigers 0-0 in an exhibition match, while Upstate dropped a 5-0 decision to CU on Sunday.

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
? After dropping the season opener to UNF, the Panthers rebounded with a 1-0 win at in-state rival Mercer on Sunday night.
? In the win over Mercer, 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 last Thursday 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.
? 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 (111), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

WHAT'S NEXT
? Georgia State will return home to face UNC Asheville on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at the new GSU Soccer Complex. The game will air live on ESPN+.

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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

#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

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