ATLANTA – Georgia State men's soccer continued to etch its name the GSU history books as the Panthers used a 4-0 shutout over Winthrop Saturday night at the GSU Soccer Complex to remain undefeated through its first six matches of the season for the first time since 2003.
Saturday's victory pushed GSU's overall record to 4-0-2, including a perfect 3-0 mark at home. The Panthers are one win/draw away from tying the program record of seven contests without a loss to start a season set in 1967.
“We're obviously pleased with how we've started but we're also realistic and know that we still have a little ways to go to reach our full potential,” GSU head coach Brett Surrency said. “I hope we can take a lot of the things we saw tonight – the togetherness of the guys and their locked in mentality was a really big factor in our performance – that we can carry over into next week. We're excited to get back after it on Monday.”
Neither side was able to create much separation in the opening portion of the first half, until Georgia State broke through in the 40th minute when Dylan Morris slotted a pass that met Aris Briggs inside the box who finished for his seventh goal of the year, surpassing his 2018 total after just six matches.
GSU carried that momentum into the second half, where it quickly added two more goals within a five-minute span. First, a cross from Tristan Jumeau met Victor Pereyra-Zavala inside the box who headed in his first goal of the year in the 61st minute. Then just five minutes later Briggs tallied his second goal of the night and gave the Panthers a comfortable 3-0 lead.
Saturday was the third time this season Briggs, the leading scorer in the Sun Belt, recorded two or more goals in a single contest. Only one other player in the conference has netted more than one goal in a match, while none have recorded multiple games with more than one goal scored.
GSU got its final goal of the evening in the 79th minute when George Proctor curved in a free kick from roughly 20 yards out that found its way into the back-right corner of the net. The goal was Proctor's second of the season, joining Briggs and Frank Rosenwald as the only Panthers who have scored more than one goal on the year.
In goal, Paul Tyson notched his second shutout of the season and tallied three saves. The Liverpool, England native owns a 0.93 goals against average through six games.
Georgia State is back in action next Saturday night as it takes on ETSU in Johnson City, Tenn.
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