Bree Hicken

Men's Soccer 10/31/2020 10:00:00 AM

Men's Soccer Hosts Coastal Carolina Sunday

ATLANTA – Looking to build momentum leading into the Sun Belt Conference Championship in just two weeks, the Georgia State men's soccer team will return home to face Coastal Carolina on Sunday at 1 p.m., at the GSU Soccer Complex.

It marks the first of two-straight home matches for Georgia State (7-2, 2-2 Sun Belt) to close out the regular season. The Panthers will be looking to extract revenge on Coastal Carolina (4-0, 4-0 Sun Belt) which handed GSU its first loss of the season in mid-October.

Despite a loss the last time out, Georgia State has still opened the season on a near record pace winning seven of their first nine matches – the second-most wins in nine matches to start a season. It comes just a year after Georgia State went 6-0-3 to start the 2019 season.

Senior Aris Briggs continues to lead the NCAA in goals (5) and points (13), while the Panthers are doing the same as a team while outscoring their opponents 20-6. Georgia State has racked up 55 points in the first eight matches of the season.

MATCH NOTES

Following four-straight matches on the road, Georgia State returns home for two-straight matches first hosting Coastal Carolina on Sunday.
Georgia State is looking to extract event on the Chanticleers who handed the Panthers their first loss of the season, a 1-0 defeat on Oct. 10, in Conway, S.C.
Coastal Carolina leads the all-time series with Georgia State 11-5-1, including a 5-2 mark in Atlanta.
GSU and Coastal have met for the Sun Belt Tournament title in three of the last four seasons.
Coastal Carolina is playing a limited fall schedule of just six Sun Belt Conference games. This will mark the Chanticleers first true road game of the year.

THE LATEST

Georgia State saw its two-match winning streak snapped last Saturday at Central Arkansas as the Bears earned a 2-0 win.
The two goals allowed to the Bears marked the first time the Panthers had given up more than one goal in a match this season.
Georgia State's seven wins in the first nine matches is the second-most wins in the first nine matches in program history. The Panthers started the 1975 season 8-1.
In GSU's first nine matches, nine different players have scored. Aris Briggs has five goals, while Matthew Fearnley has four goals. Andrew Bennett, Jeryn Hodge, Justin Guest, and Logan Luque have each scored twice, while Simon Carlson, Ross Finnie, and Max Wilkins have each scored once.
Of a possible 12 Sun Belt Conference weekly awards, GSU has won seven after Andrew Bennett took home SBC Offensive Player of the Week last week.
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.
GSU 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 7-2 to start the season.

QUICK HITS

Entering Friday, Georgia State leads the nation with 20 goals and 55 total points.
Aris Briggs leads the NCAA with 13 points and five goals. Matthew Fearnley is tied for the NCAA lead with a pair of game-winning goals while standing third with four goals and fifth with nine points.
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.

PANTHERS RANK HIGH ON TOP 50 LIST

Members of the Georgia State team have been collecting honors on a weekly basis this year and that continued with SoccerWire.com's list of the Top 50 players in the country this fall. A total of eight Panthers were included on the list released on Oct. 28.
In ranking order: Alex Henderson (9th), George Proctor (t14th), Matthew Fearnley (t18th), Logan Luque (t35th), Ramon Munoz (t35th), Aris Briggs (t40th), Ross Finnie (t42nd), and Matthew Rios (t47th) were all recognized.

SUN BELT WEEKLY HONORS

GSU swept the Sun Belt weekly honors in the first three weeks of the year and brought home another honor in Week 5.
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.
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 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.
Freshman Andrew Bennett garnered offensive honors in Week 5 after collecting his first two career college goals and adding an assist against Georgia Southern.

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 was 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 history (108), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

Following the match on Sunday, Georgia State will close out the regular season hosting Central Arkansas on Friday at 1 p.m., at the GSU Soccer Complex.

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Players Mentioned

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

#3 Matthew Rios: D; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#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

#21 Ramon Munoz: D; 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

Players Mentioned

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

#3 Matthew Rios
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: D

#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

#21 Ramon Munoz
: 6' 2"; Sophomore
: D

#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