Men’s Soccer Notebook (Sept. 7)
BURMEISTER, O’GRADY PACE OFFENSIVE ATTACKS
Georgia State sophomore midfielder Hannes Burmeister ranks tied for second in the nation in total goals (six), third in goals per game (1.50) and sixth in points per game (3.25). The Panthers rank No. 13 in the nation in scoring offense at 2.75. Not far behind is Hartwick at No. 17 (2.67), who are lead by reigning Offensive Player of the Year, senior Jamie O’Grady. He is 14th in goals per game (1.00) and 16th in points per game (2.67) in the country.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN SPLITS ROAD STRETCH
The Georgia Southern 2-1 win at Stetson marked the first win over Stetson in DeLand for the Eagles in nearly 11 years. The last win was a 3-2 overtime victory on September 23, 2005. The split in Florida for Georgia Southern closed out a stretch of four games in a row on the road to open the 2016 season. It’s the most road games to start a season since the 2011 Eagles played five road contests to commence the season.
O’GRADY, FRESHMAN LEAD HARTWICK
The Hawks defeated Robert Morris on the road Sunday, 4-0. Jamie O’Grady scored three goals in the game, the first hat trick of his career at Hartwick. Freshman Cameron Paton scored the first goal of his career in the victory. Matt Morrish, playing in his first career game at Hartwick, stopped two Colonial shots in earning the clean sheet. Hartwick hosts St. Francis Brooklyn on Sept. 10 at 6:30 p.m. CT in the Mayor’s Cup. The Hawks are looking for their first Mayor’s Cup title since 2007.
MURPHY ERA OFF AND RUNNING
By winning the first game of his tenure, first-year Georgia Southern head coach John Murphy joins former head coaches Ray Wells, Tom Norton and Kevin Kennedy with the distinction of having won their first games at the helm of the program.
GEORGIA STATE EARNS MARQUEE WIN
The Panthers earned a 4-1 victory over Memphis in their home opener on Sunday. Sophomore Hannes Burmeister scored a hat trick with three goals in the first 20 minutes of the second half to lead the Panthers to the win. The victory is the first for a Sun Belt men’s soccer program against an American Athletic Conference opponent since the league resumed play for the 2014 season.
COASTAL CAROLINA EARNS PRESEASON TOP 25 RANKING
Coastal Carolina, a newcomer to the Sun Belt this season, earned Top 25 rankings in two national polls. The Chanticleers were No. 18 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com poll and No. 21 in the NSCAA Preseason Top 25. Coastal is coming off a 13-win campaign that was also highlighted by the program’s program-best regular season ranking of fourth during two weeks in late September and early October. In addition, Coastal ranked No. 20 in the final NSCAA poll, marking the fifth consecutive and eighth time overall that the Chanticleers have ended the season ranked in the Top 25.
SUN BELT ENTERS YEAR 23 OF MEN’S SOCCER
The Sun Belt Conference began its third consecutive year of play as a men’s soccer conference last weekend after resuming the sport in 2014. The 2016 season marks the 23rd overall for men’s soccer in the league as it was sponsored from 1976-95. The announcement was made on Tuesday, February 11, 2014, that the conference would reintroduce men’s soccer. In fact, the first ever Sun Belt Championship in any sport was the 1976 men’s soccer championship.