Panthers Face Charlotte in 1st Round of NCAA Tournament Thursday

ATLANTA – Coming off one of the most remarkable seasons in program history, the Georgia State men's soccer team will open the 2021 NCAA Tournament on Thursday facing Charlotte in Charlotte, N.C., at 7 p.m., at Transamerica Field.

Georgia State (12-6) earned its fifth bid to NCAA Tournament, the last coming in 2018 when the Panthers fell to the same Charlotte (10-5-1) squad on penalty kicks, on Monday. Georgia State also received an at-large berth to the tournament in 2011 and made the play-in game in 2000 and 1997.

For the first time in program history, Georgia State defeated multiple ranked opponents in the same season, topping No. 13 Akron on Oct. 9, and then defeating No. 14 West Virginia 1-0 in the semifinals of the MAC Championship last Thursday. The Panthers faced a total of five ranked opponents this year and another which was receiving votes.

Georgia State owns a 6-2-1 record all-time against Charlotte including a 1-0 win over the 10^th-ranked 49ers in 2019, one of eight all-time ranked wins for the Panthers.

The Panthers are coming off a heartbreaking 2-1 double-overtime loss to No. 19 Northern Illinois on Sunday in the MAC Championship Game. It marked the seventh-straight year Georgia State has played for a conference title.

Georgia State just finished its first season in the Mid-American Conference and qualified for a seventh-straight conference tournament championship game. Five of the seven MAC schools qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers own a 3-4 record against teams that qualified for the championship this year.

Freshman Ethan Sassine, who earned All-MAC Second Team honors, along with junior Max Wilkins lead Georgia State with six goals each, while Justin Guest finished the year with five to help lead a balanced scoring attack as 12 different players scored at least one goal this season.

All-MAC First Team and MAC All-Tournament member Gunther Rankenburg has started every minute in goal for the Panthers this year and has 62 saves which is tops in the MAC. He has also helped pitch five shutouts this season.

MATCH NOTES

Georgia State will be making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance and second in four years. The last time was in 2018 facing this same Charlotte team where the two teams tied 2-2 before the 49ers advanced 3-0 on penalty kicks.
GSU made the NCAA Play-in game in 1997 (vs. Howard) and 2000 (vs. Rhode Island), before also receiving an at-large bid in 2011 (at No. 24 Duke) and then the most recent appearance in 2018.
Georgia State holds a 6-2-1 advantage in the all-time series with Charlotte, though that series is just 2-2-1 in Charlotte. In the last meeting, Georgia State earned a 1-0 win over No. 10 Charlotte during the 2019 season.
GSU is one of just 31 programs in the country to have reached 12 or more wins so far this season as of standings entering the NCAA Tournament.
This marks the second time in three years and third time in five years the Panthers have won 12 matches. GSU didn't accomplish it last year but played just 13 matches due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Georgia State has defeated two ranked opponents this season (#13 Akron and #14 West Virginia). It marks the first time in program history defeating two ranked opponents in the same season. The Panthers now have eight wins all-time over ranked opponents.

AGAINST THE NCAA FIELD

Georgia State went 3-4 against the 2021 NCAA Tournament field. Six of those matches came against MAC opponents as five members of the league earned tournament bids. The Panthers one non-conference opponent who made the tournament was Mercer.
The Panthers earned wins over Akron (3-1), Mercer (1-0), and West Virginia (1-0)

TOP HONORS

GSU saw four players earn All-MAC honors as announced by the conference office last week.
George Proctor and Gunther Rankenburg earned All-MAC First Team honors. Proctor was the Sun Belt Player of the Year as well as Defensive Player of the Year last season.
Junior Ross Finnie and freshman Ethan Sassine earned All-MAC Second Team honors. Sassine led the Panthers with six goals and 13 total points this year. It marks the third time Finnie has earned all-conference honors.
Rankenburg, along with Ramon Munoz and Logan Luque all earned MAC All-Tournament recognition following their play in the conference tournament last weekend.

NEW HOMES

Georgia State has a pair of new homes this season. GSU opened the new GSU Soccer Complex at 188 MLK Jr. Drive SE in August. The location previously housed the GSU 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 faced off in the final match of the regular season won by the Panthers to send GSU to the MAC Tournament.

QUICK HITS

Four of Georgia State's last five matches have come against ranked opponents including a 2-1 double-overtime loss to No. 19 Northern Illinois in the snow on Sunday.
With two wins over ranked opponents this year, Georgia State now has eight wins all-time over ranked opponents including the 2019 win over No. 10 Charlotte.
In the month of October, the Panthers faced four teams either ranked or receiving votes in the College Soccer News Top 30 poll.
As of Monday, Georgia State is tied for the sixth-most road wins (6) of any team in the country. Washington, New Hampshire, and LMU (CA) leads the way with eight.
Georgia State's +13 goal differential is tied for the 41st-best mark in the NCAA.
The Panthers are averaging 1.94 goals per game which ranks 35th in the nation.
Matthew Fearnley became the first CoSIDA Academic All-American in program history last spring, and was named CoSIDA Academic All-District last Thursday. He is also one of 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award.

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

Georgia State left its marks on the Mid-American Conference in Year 1. Despite playing in six-straight conference tournament championship games, the Panthers were selected sixth in the annual MAC Preseason Poll as selected by the coaches.

2021 MAC Men's Soccer Preseason Poll (regular season finish in BOLD)
1. West Virginia - 40 (3) 2
2. Akron - 39 (1) 6
3. Bowling Green - 38 (2) 4
4. Western Michigan - 30 (1) 5
5. NIU - 22 1
6. Georgia State - 17 3
7. Georgia Southern - 10 7
(*) 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.
Surrency is currently the second-winningest head coach in GSU history (122), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

WHAT'S NEXT

With a win, Georgia State would advance to the Round of 32 and travel to Washington, D.C., to face No. 3 Georgetown on Sunday.

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Players Mentioned

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

#4 Ross Finnie: M; 5' 9"; Junior

#15 Justin Guest: M; 5' 9"; Junior

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

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

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

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

#9 Max Wilkins: F; 6' 2"; Junior

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

Players Mentioned

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

#4 Ross Finnie
: 5' 9"; Junior
: M

#15 Justin Guest
: 5' 9"; Junior
: M

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

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

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

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

#9 Max Wilkins
: 6' 2"; Junior
: F

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