STATESBORO, Ga. - The Georgia Southern men's soccer team opens up its October slate on Saturday, hosting in-state and Sun Belt Conference rival Georgia State in a 7 p.m. match at Eagle Field. (Buy Tickets)

Both teams enter this matchup regionally ranked as of the latest United Soccer Coaches (USC) Southeast Region Rankings, released Tuesday. Georgia State (7-4) is ranked No. 7, while Georgia Southern (5-4) is ranked No. 10 - its first appearance in the regional rankings in more than nine years.

The Eagles have won four of their last five outings and continue to gain experience in close matches as all nine contests this season have been decided by just one goal. Georgia Southern picked up a 2-1 win over Jacksonville University in its last action on Sept. 27, getting goals from Aldair Cortes and Sebastian Gregersen in the win, but have been off for 10 days leading up to this weekend's contest. 

"We've used it well," Head Coach John Murphy said about the time off between the two matches. "The guys that needed a break, got a break. And the guys that needed a boost, got a boost. I think we're healthy and in good spirits going into this important game."

Georgia State, meanwhile, has also won four of its last five contests and the Panthers bring a two-game win streak into Statesboro. A convincing 4-1 home win over UAB on Tuesday represented a season-high in goals for the Panthers, and Georgia State has been equally impressive on the road in 2017, picking up a 2-1 win at then-No. 2 Wake Forest back on Sept. 5. 

"They're a strong team that returned a lot of players, and added some pieces as well," Coach Murphy said. "Brett [Surrency] has done a really, really good job there. They beat Wake Forest at Wake, which is a tremendous result for them and the Sun Belt. It certainly shows what they are capable of."

The two teams split their meetings in 2016, with Georgia Southern winning a 3-1 decision in the regular season on Oct. 8, but Georgia State winning a 2-0 decision in the Sun Belt Conference semifinals on Nov. 11. Both matches were played in Atlanta. Georgia State leads the overall series between the two teams, 23-10-6. 

The match also marks the final month of the regular season for the Eagles, with seven matches remaining in the 2017 campaign for Georgia Southern.

"You do get the sense that you're in the second half of the season," Coach Murphy said about his team's first match of October. "Just like everywhere in most parts of the country, the air gets a little cooler. If you've been in this game for a long time, you start getting that feeling that it's getting down to the end of the season. It's exciting. This is why you want to play college soccer."

In addition to being a key Sun Belt matchup, the tilt against the Panthers also represents the first contest this season in the Southern vs. State Rivaly Series. Coach Murphy is excited about what the rivaly means for soccer in general for the state of Georgia, and the region.

"For the state of Georgia, this is a great game," Coach Murphy said. "With Atlanta United's success getting national attention, people that live in Georgia know how good soccer is in this state at every level - youth, high school, college and pro. They know that one of the keynote game in the state is Georgia Southern vs. Georgia State."

In the Rivalry Series standings, a point will be given to the winner of Satruday's match, while a draw will result in a half point for each school. Live coverage of the match will be available on gseagles.com (live stats) and on True Blue TV (stream).