HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — No. 3-seeded Georgia State conceded the first goal of the game but answered with three-straight goals over a 10-minute span to pick up a 3-1 quarterfinal victory over No. 6-seeded Old Dominion in the Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship.
Georgia State senior goalkeeper Gunther Rankenburg posted seven saves—including six in the second half—to maintain the Panther margin.
The win was the Panthers’ second in six days over the Monarchs, after a 3-2 victory in the regular-season finale on Tuesday, Nov. 1.
HOW IT HAPPENED
26’ Old Dominion freshman defender Fabian Rieser sent a bouncing header past Georgia State senior goalkeeper Gunther Rankenburg off a curling volley from Monarchs sophomore midfielder Karan Mandair for his first goal of the season.
28’ Georgia State senior defender Ramon Munoz curled a ball to the six-yard box, which was tapped home off the right boot of senior forward Max Wilkins.
37’ Panthers junior midfielder Carlos Luna applied pressure on a header back to Old Dominion freshman goalkeeper Michael Statham. The ball skirted away, allowing freshman midfielder Gavin Williams to score on a wide-open net.
39’ Senior forward Ross Finnie lobbed a ball into the box on a Georgia State set piece, which senior midfielder Jack Hilton-Jones headed home for the third Panther goal over a 10-minute span.
FIRST HALF
Georgia State freshman midfielder Justin McClean was turned away on three occasions in the first half. A through ball set up his first shot in the ninth minute, which was saved by Old Dominion freshman goalkeeper Michael Statham. In the 20th minute, McClean had his shot blocked by a Monarch defender and sent a follow-up sailing over the crossbar before Statham stopped another—set up on a long throw by senior forward Max Wilkins—in the 24th minute.
Statham also got his hands on a curling shot from Georgia State junior midfielder Simon Carlson from the top of the box in the 13th minute.
Old Dominion sophomore Jan Marpe’s 37th minute cross was headed directly off the crossbar by freshman forward Michael Eberle, while Georgia State senior goalkeeper Gunther Rankenburg tallied his first save of the contest on a 45th minute shot from Monarch graduate student midfielder Nicola Missiroli.
SECOND HALF
Trailing 3-1, Old Dominion pressed forward creating a number of chances in the opening minutes of the second half. Freshman midfielder Louis Beckett fired a shot directly into the hands of Rankenburg in the 46th minute, before graduate student forward Jonah Schmalbach sent one sailing over the crossbar in the 49th.
Marpe added a 54th-minute low-driving shot at the far post, which Rankenburg saved, followed in short order by a soft header on frame from Samuel Mar Kristinsson that was also stopped in the 56th.
Georgia State created its best scoring try of the second half in the 61st minute, when junior midfielder Thomas Williams couldn’t manage to put a clean cross at the six-yard box on frame.
Rieser tried to recreate his bouncing first-half header off a corner kick in the 71st minute, which Rankenburg stopped. He also added an 84-minute stop on a driving shot by graduate student forward Tristan Jenkins in the 84th and an 85-minute save on another Rieser header attempt to preserve the 3-1 margin.
WHAT’S NEXT
No. 3-seeded Georgia State will take on No. 7-seeded James Madison in the Sun Belt Men’s Soccer Championship semifinals at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
The Panthers defeated the Dukes, 3-1 on Sept. 17, in the regular-season meeting.