Men's Soccer Travels to No. 19 West Virginia Thursday

ATLANTA – Looking to close out the road portion of the schedule and get closer to clinching a spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament, the Georgia State men's soccer team will travel to Morgantown, W. Va., to face No. 19 West Virginia on Thursday at 3 p.m.

Georgia State (10-4-0, 2-2-0 MAC) is currently holding the No. 4 spot for the upcoming championship and sit just ahead of West Virginia (8-2-4, 1-1-1 MAC) with just two games to play. The top four teams in the league will compete Nov. 10-13, for the conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

The Panthers are coming off a heartbreaking 2-1 overtime loss to No. 21 Northern Illinois on Saturday. Georgia State was looking for a win over a ranked opponent for the second time this month and will now get a shot to accomplish that feat for the first time in school history on the road.

In Georgia State's 14 matches, the Panthers have scored 30 goals and allowed just 17, a plus-13 goal differential that is tied for the 34th-best in the country. Of interesting note, five of those 17 goals allowed have come via penalty kicks.
The Panthers are ranked No. 26 in the country with 30 goals scored, averaging 2.14 goals per game which ranks No. 27 in the NCAA.

Freshman Ethan Sassine, who scored a pair of goals against the Western Michigan last Thursday night, leads the Panthers with six goals and 13 total points this year.

Goalkeeper Gunther Rankenburg picked up nine saves on Saturday night against NIU and now leads the MAC with 47 total saves.

MATCH NOTES

Georgia State concludes the road portion of the 2021 schedule making the trip to Morgantown to face No. 19 West Virginia.
The Panthers and the Mountaineers will be meeting for the second time. The last and only meeting went to West Virginia, 1-0, in 2013.
Georgia State, which had been receiving votes in the last two College Soccer News Top 30 polls before this week, will be facing their second-straight ranked opponent and third ranked opponent in the month of October.
GSU is 6-2 on the road this season having outscored their opponents 18-9 in those games.
As of Monday, Georgia State is tied for the third-most road wins (6) of any team in the country. New Hampshire and Cal Baptist currently lead with 7, while GSU is tied with Washington, Marshall, Northern Illinois, New Hampshire, UMass, and LMU (CA).

NEW HOMES

Georgia State has a pair of new homes this season. The Panthers opened the new GSU Soccer Complex at 188 MLK Jr. Drive SE earlier this summer. The location previously housed the Georgia State Football team for 10 years.
The Panthers second new home this year is the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Panthers along with in-state rival Georgia Southern joined the league earlier this summer. In fitting fashion, the two schools will face off in the final match of the regular season.

QUICK HITS

Last time out, Georgia State lost to No. 21 NIU 2-1 in overtime. Despite giving up 24 shots, GSU's defense held tight as Gunther Rankenburg recorded a career-high nine saves.
Having already picked up their 10th win of the season, GSU has now won at least 10 matches in five of the last six seasons. The lone year Georgia State did not win 10 matches was last year when the program went 9-2-2 due to a shortened schedule because of COVID-19.
In the month of October, the Panthers will face four teams either ranked or receiving votes in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll. Georgia State already has a win over No. 13 Akron which was the first MAC win this year and seventh time in program history defeating a ranked opponent.
In Georgia State's win at UAB in September, GSU picked up the 500th win in program history.
The Panthers are one of just 26 programs in the country to have reached 10 or more wins so far this season as of standings on Monday morning.
Georgia State's +13 goal differential is tied for the 34th-best mark in the NCAA.
The Panthers are averaging 2.14 goals per game which ranks 27th in the nation.
Senior defender George Proctor has found the back of the net three times this year with all three goals coming via penalty kick. The reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year has made three of his four attempts this year.
Senior Matthew Fearnley became the first CoSIDA Academic All-American in program history last spring, while both he and fellow senior Logan Luque earned CoSIDA Academic All-District honors. Fearnley shared the team lead with five goals scored. He has three goals this year which is tied for fourth on the team. He is now one of 30 nominees for the Senior CLASS Award.
Despite 17 upperclassmen on the team this year, freshmen have already been making an impact. Sassine shares the team lead with six goals, while Jordan Beam and Bryan Silva have both scored their first collegiate goals this year.

EXHIBITION PLAY

Georgia State finished exhibition play with a 1-0-2 record with a 2-1 win at Presbyterian College, along with 0-0 draws against No. 6 Clemson (now No. 2) and Clayton State.
In the win against the Blue Hose, it was a pair of newcomers getting the goals. Graduate transfer Iolo Jones got the Panthers on the board in the first half, and it was freshman Ethan Sassine who proved to have the game winning goal in the second half.

IT'S NOT HOW YOU START, BUT HOW YOU FINISH

Georgia State enters the Mid-American Conference as one of the newbies along with Georgia Southern. Despite playing in six-straight conference tournament championship games and making an appearance in the 2018 NCAA Tournament, the Panthers were selected sixth in the annual MAC Preseason Poll as selected by the coaches.

2021 MAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll
1. West Virginia - 40 (3)
2. Akron - 39 (1)
3. Bowling Green - 38 (2)
4. Western Michigan - 30 (1)
5. NIU - 22
6. Georgia State - 17
7. Georgia Southern - 10
(*) First Place Votes
MAC Champion: WVU (3), BGSU (2), WMU (1) Akron (1)

REACHING TRIPLE DIGITS

GSU head coach Brett Surrency reached the 100-win plateau in the regular season finale of the 2019 season. He had led GSU to 11 or more wins in three consecutive seasons before last season where the Panthers played only 13 matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He 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 (120), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

WHAT'S NEXT

Georgia State will close out the regular season hosting in-state rival Georgia Southern on Nov. 4, at 7 p.m., at the new GSU Soccer Complex.

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Players Mentioned

#10 Matthew Fearnley: M; 5' 11"; Senior

#23 Logan Luque: M; 5' 10"; Senior

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

#1 Gunther Rankenburg: GK; 6' 3"; Junior

#14 Bryan Silva: MF; 5' 8"; Freshman

#19 Ethan Sassine: F; 5' 10"; Freshman

#28 Jordan Beam: MF; 5' 7"; Freshman

#3 Iolo Jones: MF; 5' 11"; Graduate Student

Players Mentioned

#10 Matthew Fearnley
: 5' 11"; Senior
: M

#23 Logan Luque
: 5' 10"; Senior
: M

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

#1 Gunther Rankenburg
: 6' 3"; Junior
: GK

#14 Bryan Silva
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: MF

#19 Ethan Sassine
: 5' 10"; Freshman
: F

#28 Jordan Beam
: 5' 7"; Freshman
: MF

#3 Iolo Jones
: 5' 11"; Graduate Student
: MF