Georgia State Men's Soccer: Panthers Drop 2-1 OT Heartbreak at South Carolina
ATLANTA – The Georgia State men’s soccer team’s four-match winning streak was snapped Tuesday night when the Panthers were defeated by South Carolina 2-1 in overtime at Stone Stadium in Columbia, S.C.
GSU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute when Aaron Jones scored with a perfect free kick. The Panthers held onto this lead until the 89th minute but Hamilton Carlin scored for the Gamecocks to force overtime.
South Carolina had the momentum in overtime and forced Georgia State goalkeeper to make a great diving save in the 93rd minute. However, on the ensuing corner, the Gamecocks grabbed the win with a headed goal by Jeff Addai.
In the first 15 minutes South Carolina had three chances and GSU one but all four shots were off target. Cochran made his first save of the match in the 20th minute on the match’s first quality scoring opportunity.
Six minutes later the Gamecocks were awarded a penalty kick but Cochran made a great save to deny Mikkel Knudsen. The kicker went to Cochran’s right but the senior red it the whole way to push the ball wide of the post.
Over the final 15 minutes of the half the Panthers had six shots but none were on target and the first 45 minutes ended with the score 0-0.
GSU had a slight edge in shots (7-6) but USC took three more corners (5-2) during the first half.
South Carolina went on the attack first in the second half, forcing Cochran to make another save on a shot by Jeffrey Torda in the 49th minute.
The Gamecocks had another chance in the 55th minute when Knudsen got behind the Panther defense. However, he was unable to control the ball while under pressure from Cochran and it went out for a goal kick.
Georgia State finally broke through in the 62nd minute when Jones scored on a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box. He bent the ball over the wall and into the top left corner past diving South Carolina keeper Robert Beebe.
GSU nearly doubled its lead less than a minute later but Stephen McGill’s shot was wide left.
The Gamecocks continued to attack of the final minutes of the second half, and they had two shots that deflected off the goal frame.
In the 79th minute Braeden Troyer fired a shot from 10 yards out but it clanged off the crossbar. Then in the 89th minute Knudsen was one-on-one with Cochran but his shot hit the right post.
However, the ball rebounded to Carlin, who was able to flick it over Cochran and into the top right corner to tie the match at one.
After 90 minutes, South Carolina took one more shot (14-13) and four more corner kicks (8-4) but there was nothing to separate the squads so they prepared for extra time.
In the second minute of overtime, Kurtis Turner fired a laser of shot toward the top left corner but Cochran made a diving save to keep the match tied.
On the resulting corner, Addai was first to the ball as he headed home Eli Dent’s cross to give South Carolina the win.
Georgia State is now 4-4 this season and the Panthers’ win streak ended at four. Cochran finished with five saves on 16 shots face, including one on a penalty kick and two other excellent diving stops. GSU’s next match is against Belmont on Oct. 7 at the GSU Soccer Complex.
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Men’s Soccer Shut Down By Blue Devils, 2-0
DURHAM, N.C. – Appalachian State University men’s soccer fell to Duke on Tuesday evening by a final score of 2-0.
The Mountaineers (3-5-1) hung tough for most of the match against their ACC foe – the Blue Devils. The comparison in shots was narrow at 13-10 in favor of Duke, while corner kicks were matched at three a piece and the Mountaineers didn’t back off intensity wise as the fouls were almost even.
“Once we weathered the storm in the first 10 minutes, we responded well and possessed well,” said head coach Matt Nelson. “We gave up two poor goals and it was tough to recover. The performance and effort was good, but once again, the result eluded us.”
Trey Hemphill (Asheville, N.C./TC Roberson) led the team in shots with three, while Stanley Broaden (Wilmington, N.C./Eugene Ashley) and Donovan Japp (Oakridge, N.C./Northwest Guilford) finished with two shots each.
Duke struck first in the 21st minute when Zach Mathers scored unassisted on a chip over Paul West’s (Apex, N.C./Apex) head from about 30 yards.
The Blue Devil’s second goal came late in the game in the 80th minute on a penalty kick that was converted by Mathers.
West made four saves in the match for the Mountaineers, while the defense earned two team saves on the night.
"Starting this Friday, we need to realize that results are what matter and we need to start our conference season off on the right foot,” said Nelson.
The Mountaineers return to action on Friday, Oct. 3 when they travel to Hartwick for their first Sun Belt Conference match of the season. Kick off is set for 7 p.m.