SENIOR DAY PHOTO GALLERY

STATESBORO, Ga. – Georgia Southern Men's Soccer scored twice in the first half hour, but was unable to withstand Georgia State's offensive attack as the Panthers took a 5-3 win in the regular season finale. With the win, Georgia State earns a point in the rivalry series to tie the score at 2-2. The Eagles and Panthers will play again on Friday afternoon in the Sun Belt Semifinals.

MATCH FACTS
Georgia State (9-7-0, 4-1-0 Sun Belt) - 5
Georgia Southern (6-8-1, 3-2-0 Sun Belt) – 3

SCORING
22' – GS – Emmanuel Raji dished the ball to Eric Dinka at the edge of the 18-yard box, allowing Dinka to crack off a shot from 12 yards and give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
29' – GS – Adam Abdellaoui doubled the Georgia Southern advantage on 29 minutes when he finished a breakaway chance off an assist from Dinka.
37' – GAST – Tristen Trevino grabbed a goal back in the final 10 minutes of the first half with his third goal of the year. A square ball from Rashid Alarape gave Trevino the ball at 10 yards.
45' – GAST – The Panthers leveled the score just seven seconds before halftime with a Georgia Southern own goal. A cross played in by the Panthers struck an Eagle defender and went into the net.
53' – GAST – Eight minutes into the second half, Georgia State took a 3-2 lead when Rashid Alarape sliced through the Eagle defense and struck a ball from the edge of the 18-yard box.
73' – GS – Adam Abdellaoui got his second goal of the night thanks to a booming punt from goalkeeper Jack Falle that landed just outside the Panthers' 18-yard box. Abdellaoui headed the ball on its first bounce and hit the ball over the Panther goalkeeper into the net to level the match at 3-3.
75' – GAST – The Panthers put themselves back on top as Nenad Smiljanic struck a free kick from the 20 yards and found the twine.
81' – GAST – Georgia State scored its fifth as Jad Elkhalil poked a low through ball from Eddie Wilding inside the six-yard box.

NOTES
- Georgia Southern goalkeeper Jack Falle recorded his first collegiate assist on the Eagles third goal of the night. He also made four saves in the match.
- Prior to the contest Georgia Southern honored six seniors for their service to the program. Chase Park, Matt Melton, Eric Dinka, Dalton Churchwell, Emmanuel Raji and Jack Falle played their final match at Eagle Field on Saturday night.
- Georgia Southern will enter the postseason as the No. 3 seed for the Sun Belt Tournament in Boone, N.C.

GEORGIA SOUTHERN-GEORGIA STATE RIVALRY SERIES UPDATE
With the win, the Panthers have added a point for their school to in the Georgia Southern-Georgia State Rivalry Series. The score for the series is now Georgia Southern 2 and Georgia State 2. To view the results and scoring in this new competition, visit GSEagles.com/RivalrySeries.

WHAT COACH KEVIN KENNEDY SAID
"Tonight we just weren't good enough. Our passes weren't crisp enough, I didn't think we were tough enough mentally in key moments and I think physically we weren't up for the fight. We've got some things to work on, but all that matters now is getting prepared for a rematch with Georgia State on Friday. We have experience in this situation having gone through it last year and we will be ready."

NEXT UP
Georgia Southern draws a rematch with in-state rival Georgia State on Friday in the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. between the Eagles and Panthers

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