Daniel Wilson

Men's Soccer 10/12/2020 11:30:00 AM

Men's Soccer Closes Out Non-Conference Portion of Schedule at UAB Tuesday

Schedule Note: The originally scheduled Sun Belt Conference match against in-state rival Georgia Southern, set for Saturday, has instead moved to Friday night, October 16th, at 7 p.m., to avoid conflict with Georgia Southern football vs. UMass. The match will still be broadcast on ESPN+.

ATLANTA – Looking to bounce back from a tough loss on Saturday, Georgia State will make the trip out I-20 to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB at BBVA Field on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.

Before allowing its first goal in more than 372 minutes on Saturday, Georgia State (5-1, 1-1 Sun Belt) had won its first five matches of the year while outscoring the opposition 13-3.

Georgia State will now look for a sweep of UAB (1-4, 0-0 C-USA) after earning a 4-0 win over the Blazers on Sept. 30. Tuesday night will mark UAB's first home game of the year after five-straight road contests to begin the season.

Senior Aris Briggs, a two-time Sun Belt Player of the Week selection this year, continues leads the nation in points (11) and goals (4), while sophomore Gunther Rankenburg shares the national lead with two shutouts in goal.

THE MATCHUP

Georgia State wraps up the non-conference portion of the schedule looking to rebound from its first loss of the season and sweep a pair of games from UAB.
The Panthers topped UAB 4-0 in the home opener back on Sept. 30. Four different Panthers scored while Gunther Rankenburg pitched a shutout in goal.
Georgia State leads the all-time series with the Blazers 14-9-1, including a 5-3-1 mark in Birmingham.
Georgia State has won two-straight games over the Blazers and have a four-match winning streak against members of Conference USA.
After five-straight road matches to open the season, UAB will be playing its first home match of the year on Tuesday.

THE LATEST

Georgia State dropped its first match of the year on Saturday with a 1-0 loss at Coastal Carolina.
The Panthers 5-0 start to the season matched the best in program history.
Before the Chanticleers goal in the 81st minute, Georgia State had gone 372 minutes between allowing goals.
In GSU's first six matches, eight different players have scored goals. Aris Briggs has four goals, while Matthew Fearnley has three goals. Jeryn Hodge, Simon Carlson, Logan Luque, Justin Guest, Ross Finnie, and Max Wilkins have each scored once.
Last week, for a third-straight week, Georgia State has swept Sun Belt Conference weekly honors. Aris Briggs (Offensive) and Gunther Rankenburg (Defensive) garnered recognition on Wednesday. It was Briggs' second honor of the year.
Georgia State was named the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week on Sept. 21, following the Panthers 2-1 season opening win over Mercer.
Georgia State has gotten off to great starts in back-to-back seasons. Last season the Panthers started 6-0-3 before sustaining their first loss. This year the squad is 5-1 to start the season.

QUICK HITS

Entering Monday, Georgia State leads the nation with 13 goals and 36 total points.
Senior forward Aris Briggs leads the NCAA with 11 points and four goals. Matthew Fearnley leads the nation with a pair of game-winning goals and sophomore Gunther Rankenburg is tied for the national lead with two shutouts.
Last year Aris Briggs finished with 16 goals and one assist for 33 total points. His 16 goals ranked seventh among all players in Division I men's soccer and ranked tied for ninth in the GSU record book for goals scored in a single season. He led the Sun Belt in total points (33), points per game (1.65), goals (16), goals per game (0.80).
GSU has appeared in five-straight Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship Games, last earning the title in 2018 before appearing in the NCAA Tournament.

SUN BELT WEEKLY HONORS

Georgia State has swept the Sun Belt Conference weekly honors in the first three weeks of the year.
Aris Briggs and Paul Tyson earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors on Sept. 23, following a 2-1 win over Mercer to start the season. Briggs finished with two goals, while Tyson made seven saves keeping the Bears off the scoreboard in the first half. It marked the second time that Briggs was honored in his career and the fourth time that Tyson was recognized.
Matthew Fearnley and George Proctor swept the Week 2 awards. Fearnley scored the first goal of Georgia State's 3-1 win over South Carolina, while Proctor impressed on the backline that allowed just one late Gamecock goal.
Briggs and sophomore Gunther Rankenburg swept the honors in Week 3 after the Panthers earned wins over UAB and Georgia Southern. Rankenburg pitched shutouts in both matches while Briggs finished with a goal and two assists.

PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE ACCOLADES

Georgia State had four players named to the 2020 All-Sun Belt Preseason recognition, including Aris Briggs, Matthew Fernley, Ross Finnie, and Paul Tyson. Briggs was named the league's Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. He and Tyson have earned preseason recognition in each of the last two seasons.

TYSON NAMED TOP 10 GOALKEEPER BY TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM

Georgia State senior goalkeeper Paul Tyson has been named one of the top 10 goalkeepers in the country entering the 2020 season by TopDrawerSoccer.com.
Tyson, a native of Liverpool, England, earned 2019 Sun Belt All-Tournament Team honors last year after guiding the Panthers to a fifth-straight Sun Belt Conference Championship Game appearance.

REACHING TRIPLE DIGITS

GSU head coach Brett Surrency reached the 100-win plateau in the regular season finale last year. He has led GSU to 11 or more wins in three consecutive seasons and 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 men's soccer history (106), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

Following Tuesday's match, Georgia State will continue a stretch of four-straight games away from home on Friday night traveling to Statesboro to face Georgia Southern at 7 p.m. The match was previously scheduled for Saturday but was moved due to a football game being added to the schedule for the Eagles.

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Players Mentioned

#1 Paul Tyson: GK; 6' 7"; Senior

#10 Matthew Fearnley: M; 5' 10"; Junior

#4 Ross Finnie: M; 5' 7"; Sophomore

#15 Justin Guest: M; 5' 8"; Sophomore

#16 George Proctor: D; 6' 1"; Senior

#19 Max Wilkins: F; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#23 Logan Luque: M; 5' 11"; Junior

#31 Aris Briggs: F; 6' 4"; Senior

#33 Gunther Rankenburg: GK; 6' 2"; Sophomore

#12 Simon Carlson: MF; 5' 6"; Freshman

#27 Jeryn Hodge: F; 5' 9"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#1 Paul Tyson
: 6' 7"; Senior
: GK

#10 Matthew Fearnley
: 5' 10"; Junior
: M

#4 Ross Finnie
: 5' 7"; Sophomore
: M

#15 Justin Guest
: 5' 8"; Sophomore
: M

#16 George Proctor
: 6' 1"; Senior
: D

#19 Max Wilkins
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: F

#23 Logan Luque
: 5' 11"; Junior
: M

#31 Aris Briggs
: 6' 4"; Senior
: F

#33 Gunther Rankenburg
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: GK

#12 Simon Carlson
: 5' 6"; Freshman
: MF

#27 Jeryn Hodge
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: F