Men's Soccer 9/27/2021 12:09:00 PM

Men's Soccer Opens Road Swing Tuesday at UAB

ATLANTA – Winners of three-straight games, the Georgia State men's soccer team will begin a stretch of three-straight matches away from home on Tuesday night traveling to Birmingham, Ala., to face UAB at 8 p.m. ET, at BBVA Field.

Georgia State (6-2) has gone 4-1 on the road this season with the only loss coming in double overtime. The four road wins are tied for the fifth-most in the country. UAB (2-5) will be looking to pick up its first home win after a tough non-conference slate through the first five weeks of the season. The game will air live on CUSA.tv.

In Georgia State's first eight matches, the Panthers have scored 17 goals and allowed just nine, a plus-8 goal differential that is tied for the 30^th-best in the country. Of interesting note, four of those nine goals allowed have come via penalty kicks.

The Panthers are ranked No. 25 in the country with 17 goals scored, averaging 2.12 goals per game which ranks No. 30 in the country.

Goalkeeper Gunther Rankenburg has pitched three shutouts in Georgia State's first eight matches of the year which ranks No. 27 in the country. He has also accumulated 22 saves so far this season, which leads the MAC.

MATCH NOTES

Georgia State begins a stretch of three-straight road games on Tuesday night at UAB
The Panthers lead the all-time series with the Blazers 15-9-1, including a 6-3-1 mark in Birmingham.
Georgia State swept a pair of games with UAB last season, earning a 4-0 win in Atlanta and a 4-1 win in Birmingham.
The Panthers have won three-straight in the series with UAB last winning on Nov. 2, 2018, in Birmingham.
Head coach Brett Surrency is 4-1-1 all-time against UAB.

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

As of Monday, Georgia State is tied for fifth with the most road wins (4) in the country. GSU only trails New Hampshire, LMU (CA), Northeastern, and Cal Baptist, as each school has five road wins.
Freshman Ethan Sassine apparently likes to wait late in games to do his damage. He recorded the game-winner against Wofford with just 89 seconds to play. He scored an open net goal with four seconds to play in a 2-0 win over Davidson. He has now scored in three-straight games and leads the Panthers with four goals this season.
GSU is 4-1 on the road this season and have outscored their opponents in those matches 10-5.
Before Saturday's home game, the Panthers just finished a swing of three-straight matches away from home going 2-1 while outscoring their opponents 7-3. The only loss came in double overtime.
Georgia State has allowed nine goals in the first eight matches of the season, however, four of those have come via penalty kicks, including two against UNF.
Georgia State's +8 goal differential is tied for the 30th-best mark in the NCAA.
In the win over Mercer, George Proctor scored on a penalty kick in the 75th minute. The reigning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year and Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year scored a goal in the third-straight regular season he played.
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 scored his first goal of the 2021 season in the 2-1 win at USC Upstate. He is now a nominee for the Senior CLASS Award.
Despite 17 upperclassmen on the team this year, freshmen have already been making an impact. Sassine leads the Panthers with four goals, 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 for 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 (116), behind only Scottie O'Neill (143), who coached the team from 1976-86.

WHAT'S NEXT

Georgia State will open Mid-American Conference play traveling to No. 17 Bowling Green on Oct. 7 p.m. as part of a two-game road trip that will also take them to No. 20 Akron.

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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