Men's Soccer Faces South Carolina Thursday

ATLANTA – Following an opening night win that earned Georgia State TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week honors, the Panthers return to the road to face South Carolina on Thursday night at 7 p.m. at Stone Stadium.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, fans are advised that tickets will not be sold for the match-up, however, it can be watched live as part of Gamecock Productions.

THE MATCHUP

Georgia State heads to Columbia, S.C., for its second match of the season to take on South Carolina at Stone Stadium.
GSU will be facing the Gamecocks for the first time since Oct. 23, 2018, a game won by USC 1-0.
USC leads the all-time series 12-1 with GSU's win coming on Oct. 21, 1978.
Georgia State finished last season 12-4-4, advancing to the Sun Belt Conference Championship Game for a fifth-straight year. South Carolina, which plays soccer in Conference USA, finished the year 7-9-2, with a 2-5 record in league play.
Thursday night's game marks the first of three match-ups for GSU against Conference USA schools this fall. GSU will also host a home-and-home series with UAB.

THE LATEST

Georgia State was named the TopDrawerSoccer.com National Team of the Week on Tuesday following the Panthers 2-1 season opening win over Mercer.
Senior forward Aris Briggs took home a trophy case of hardware in Week 1 earning three awards. He scored two goals against Mercer including a header in the 81st minute that proved to be the game winner. For his efforts, he earned the following awards.
- Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week
- United Soccer Coaches Players of the Week
- TopDrawerSoccer.com Player of the Week
Briggs, along with Alex Henderson and Justin Guest earned TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week recognition, while senior Paul Tyson earned honorable mention honors.
Georgia State won its regular season opener for a second-straight year. The Panthers started last season unbeaten in their first nine matches - a school record.
Briggs was named the Sun Belt Preseason Offensive Player of the Year earlier this month.
Briggs was also one of four Panthers along with Matthew Fearnley, Ross Finnie, and Paul Tyson to earn All-Sun Belt Preseason recognition
Tyson was also named one of the top 10 goalkeepers in the country entering the 2020 season by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

QUICK HITS

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.
Senior forward Aris Briggs finished last season 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), and was tied for first with six game-winning goals.
The Panthers turn six starters from last season while welcoming nine newcomers to the program this year.
Georgia State 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 seniors Aris Briggs and Paul Tyson earned Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week honors on Wednesday 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.

FOUR PANTHERS GARNER 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.
Last season Tyson started 19 games and played nearly 1,800 minutes in goal. He finished the year with an 11-4-4 record, including eight clean sheets to set a new single-season school record. Tyson ranked first in the Sun Belt Conference in goals against average (0.95) and save percentage (.787).

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

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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

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

#6 Alex Henderson: D; 6' 3"; 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

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

#6 Alex Henderson
: 6' 3"; Freshman
: D