Men's Soccer Defeats Lander in Final Exhibition Match
8/29/2009 10:12:00 PM | Men's Soccer
STATESBORO, Ga. - Georgia Southern came out early scoring a quick goal and held on to defeat Lander 1-0 in the final exhibition match of the season.
Jon Cox (Alpharetta, Ga.) scored a goal off of a pass from Sean Pinto (Marietta, Ga.) less than two minutes into the match to give the Eagles an early lead. Cox recorded nine shots with four coming on goal.
"Jon is playing well in the early going. He had a great goal in the first two minutes of the match and is playing with a lot of confidence," said head coach Kevin Kennedy.
Joey Ralph (Evans, Ga.) and the Georgia Southern defenders shut out Lander to make good on Cox's early goal.
"Joey had three big saves today. It is important to have his leadership and communication back there," said Kennedy.
The Eagles out shot the Bearcats 19-10 and recorded nine shots on goal.
Freshmen Rich Heyer (Tupelo, Miss.), Connor Talbert (Centennial, Colo.) and Cameron Troutman (Ocean Springs, Miss.) made their first starts of the season. Heyer recorded five shots with three coming on goal. Talbert and Witt Carlisle (Alpharetta, Ga.) both added a shot on goal to the Eagles' tally.
"We had a young starting lineup today, but I was impressed by the play of our freshmen. Sean Pinto, Connor Talbert and Zack Johnson (Duluth, Ga.) helped us keep a clean sheet today. Rich Heyer was also impressive," said Kennedy.
The men's soccer team opens the regular season Friday at the UCF Tournament. The Eagles will take on Iona Friday at 6:30 p.m. in Orlando, Fla. The home opener is scheduled for September 8th against Campbell at 4 p.m.
