Box Score MACON, Ga. – Georgia State men's soccer senior Aris Briggs continued right where he left off last year with a pair of goals in a 2-1 win over Mercer at Betts Stadium on Friday night.
Briggs who ranked seventh among all players in NCAA Division I men's soccer with 16 goals last season got the Panthers on the board early and then provided the game-winning goal late as the Panthers topped the Bears for a fourth-straight time.
Georgia State improved to 1-0, while Mercer dropped to 0-1.
Senior goalkeeper Paul Tyson, who earned All-Sun Belt Preseason honors finished with seven saves, including multiple key saves in the first half.
MATCH NOTES
- Senior Aris Briggs, who was named the Sun Belt Offensive Preseason Player of the Year earlier this month, got the Panthers on the board in the 10th minute with a goal.
- Sophomore Justin Guest provided the assist on Briggs' first goal of the season.
- Mercer tied the match on a goal by Trevor Martineau in the 69th minute of the game.
- Briggs provided the game-winning goal with a header into the upper right corner of the net off an assist from George Proctor in the 81st minute.
SERIES NOTES
- Georgia State won its fourth-straight in the series with Mercer.
- The Panthers now lead the all-time series with Mercer 37-18-3, and have reached .500 in Macon, 13-13-1.
- This marked the first of a home-and-home-series with the Bears. Mercer returns to Atlanta on Oct. 6.
QUICK HITS
- Georgia State won its season opener for a second-straight season following a 2-1 win over Presbyterian College to open last season.
- Georgia State opened last season undefeated through nine matches (6-0-3 record), surpassing the previous school record of seven games without a loss to start a season set in 1967.
WHAT'S NEXT
- Georgia State will play a second-straight road match to open the season traveling to Columbia, S.C., next Thursday to face South Carolina at 7 p.m.
- The Panthers open the home portion of the schedule on Sept. 30, hosting UAB at 5 p.m. at the GSU Soccer Complex.
