ATLANTA – Behind goals from Cory Plasker and Jamal Keene, the Georgia State men's soccer team defeated Belmont 2-1 at the GSU Soccer Complex Friday night. The Panthers finish the regular season 9-9-1 while the Bruins finish the year 6-10-2.
Belmont forced Panther goalie CJ Cochran to make a pair of saves in the 16thand 21st minutes. Georgia State responded with its first scoring chance in the 22nd minute. Stephen McGill fired a curving shot on goal but Belmont goalkeeper Grayson Rector was able to push it wide of the right post.
GSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 35th minute when Plasker scored his second goal of the season. Keene's shot was on goal but Rector made the save. However, the Bruin goalie was unable to control the rebound and Plasker scored with a tap-in.
GSU doubled its lead in the 43rd minute when Keene found the back of the net for the fifth time this season. After the Belmont defense failed to clear a cross, the ball deflected to Keene, who scored with a half-volley from 30 yards out over the keeper's head and into the top right corner.
At the half, Georgia State held the edge in shots (6-4) and corner kicks (2-1) en-route to a 2-0 lead.
The Panthers went on the attack first in the second half when Ali Elkhalil forced Rector to make a save in the 55th minute. Two minutes later, Nicolas Ricard test Cochran with a header but the Panther keeper made the save.
In the 72nd minute, Belmont caught the GSU defense on a counter attack. One-on-one, Joonas Bask fired a low shot but Cochran made the diving save. Nico Olask collected the rebound and fired a second shot on goal. Cochran recorded another save but was unable to control the rebound, and Alfred Edmonds scored to bring the Bruins within one.
Five minutes later, Olask sent another shot on goal but Cochran made his eighth save of the match to protect Georgia State's 2-1 lead. The Panthers held on over the final 10 minutes to secure the victory.
CJ Cochran finishes the season 8-8-1 after the victory. He recorded eight saves on 16 shots faced. Grayson Rector falls to 6-10-2. He made four saves on 12 total shots.
The Panthers finish the regular season with a .500 record at 9-9 despite an 0-5 start to the season. The challenging schedule saw GSU go 1-1-1 against top 25 teams.
