MATCH #10
WHO: ODU (4-4-1, 0-2-0) vs. Georgia State (3-5-1, 0-2-0)
WHEN: Oct. 5 – 7 p.m.
WHERE: Norfolk, Va.
SERIES RECORD: ODU leads series 9-3-1
LAST MEETING: Sept. 16, 2023 – ODU 2, Ga. State 2 – in Atlanta
STREAM: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: here
NORFOLK, Va. – The Old Dominion men’s soccer team returns to the home pitch on Saturday night to take on the Georgia State Panthers in a Sun Belt Conference contest at 7 p.m. on Military Appreciation Night.
The game will have live stats and be streamed on ESPN+.
In last year’s meeting in Atlanta, Key White and Nicholas Alves scored goals for the Monarchs but ODU allowed a Georgia State tally with 93 seconds left as the game ended in a 2-2 draw.
ODU (4-4-1, 0-2-0) hits the field after facing a pair of top-seven teams to start league play as they fell 1-0 to fifth-ranked West Virginia on Sept. 21 and dropped a 2-1 decision to seventh-ranked Marshall on Sunday. White took a breakaway feed from Marcelo Randolf and blasted one into the left side of the net to even the match with 16 minutes remaining. Marshall got the go-ahead goal with just over five minutes left for the decision.
Georgia State (3-5-1, 0-2-0) is coming off a 2-1 loss at UCF on Sunday night. Pavel Romero-Garmendia scored for the Panthers in the 43rd minute to level the match, but UCF got the go-ahead tally in the 84th minute for the win.
ABOUT ODU
ODU leads the all-time series 9-3-1, but have yet to defeat Georgia State since both teams joined the Sun Belt in 2022. That season, ODU lost a 3-2 decision in Norfolk and a 2-1 match at Marshall in the opening round of the conference tournament.
Through nine matches, White now leads the team in points with eight and assists with four to go with his two goals. Michael Eberle leads in goals scored with three and is second in points with seven. Timothy Ennin has two goals and two assists for six points, while William Arnesen has two goals and one assist for five points. Lewis Redding trails White in assists as he has three.
In the net, Michael Statham has three clean sheets, a save percentage of .756, and a goals against average of 1.11 through nine matches. He is third in saves per game, third in shutouts per game and second in total shutouts.
The four goals in the win at George Washington were the most in a season opener since 2011 in a 6-0 win over Houston Baptist in a tournament at West Virginia.
After the Georgia State match, the Monarchs are on the road for the next three contests at Kentucky, UCF, and Coastal Carolina. They return home on October 27 against South Carolina.
Tennant McVea takes over as head coach of the Monarchs from long-time coach Alan Dawson who retired at the end of the 2023 season. He had served on the staff for seven years, including being on the Conference USA winning staff in 2014.
Eberle was named Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player of the Week after a pair of game-winning goals against William & Mary and previously undefeated George Mason. He is tied for second in the conference in game-winning goals (2) and is sixth in goals scored (3).
ABOUT GEORGIA STATE
The Panthers have alternated two-game skids in their last six contests. They lost to Lipscomb and Memphis, before winning against USC Upstate and Wofford and enter after losing to Coastal Carolina and UCF.
Justin McLean leads Georgia State in scoring with three goals and one assist for seven points, while Matthew Taylor is the other multiple goal scorer with two for four points.
In the net, Josh Hangi is seventh in the league in goals against average at 1.33, while leading the league in saves per game at 4.63.
NEXT UP
The Monarchs will start a three-match road swing on Friday, October 11 visiting Kentucky.