ATLANTA - After trouncing Old Dominion 5-2 for their first Sun Belt Conference victory of the season, the Panthers will take five days off from competition as they prepare for a roadtrip to nationally ranked Marshall on Saturday, October 4.

FINDING THEIR STRIDE

The Panthers entered their matchup with Old Dominion following a four-game stretch that saw the team go unbeaten, but only outscore their opponents by one goal on aggregate. The team was able to flip the script against the visiting Monarchs, taking a 3-0 lead into the half and closing out a 5-2 victory, their largest margin of the season.

Samire-Mohamed Djeha has been a threat on offense for the Panthers all season, but is coming off of the best week of his career. Against non-conference Wofford, Djeha opened up the scoring with the team's lone goal in a 1-1 tie. With Old Dominion in town, he provided a first half assist before exploding for a pair of late goals to take sole possession of the team lead with five. He and teammate Matt Taylor have been leapfrogging one another atop the leaderboard throughout the season, and will both be looking to score against Marshall.

Senior goalkeeper Loan Marin has improved drastically along with the team. Against Marshall, he turned in a season-high seven saves to bring his save percentage up to .705, good for third best in the Sun Belt. Marin has been critical to maintaining the team's now-five-game unbeaten streak. It has been over a month since his last loss and his last game allowing more than two goals. 

Georgia State @ No. 4 Marshall: Oct. 4 | 7:15 p.m. | Huntington, WV | ESPN+

The Panthers will make the trip up to West Virginia to take on a Marshall (3-1-4) program that has ascended to national powerhouse level in recent years. The 2025 Thundering Herd squad has been dominant, but suffered their first loss of the season last time out against Sun Belt conference opponent No. 19 Georgia Southern. The Panthers have done battle with Marshall in each of the last three seasons, marking the inception of the series. The Panthers have not beaten Marshall in their history, but have drawn twice, including during the 2024 season, which later saw Marshall advance to the national championship game.