Men's Soccer | 10/24/2016 4:15:00 PM

STATESBORO – The Georgia Southern men's soccer will face its toughest opponent of the season Tuesday night as the Eagles travel to Clemson, S.C. to take on nationally-ranked Clemson at Riggs Field. The Eagles and No. 8 Tigers will play on the ACC Network Extra, part of the ESPN family of networks, with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.

MATCH SNAPSHOT 
Georgia Southern vs. #8 Clemson
Tuesday, Oct. 25   |  7 p.m. EDT   |   Riggs Field (Clemson, S.C.)
Live Stats   |  Video (ACC Network Extra)

SCOUTING THE TIGERS
Heading into Tuesday's match at Riggs Field, the Tigers own an all-time series record of 6-1-2 over the Eagles with all nine previous games having been played in Clemson. The Eagles claimed their lone win in the series 2-1 on Friday, Sept. 13, 2008. In that game, Daniel Smith scored twice to lift Georgia Southern past the home Tigers. The other two positive results for GS came in the form of ties in 1997 and 2010.

Clemson is coached by seventh-year head coach Mike Noonan who boasts a record of 70-45-25 while at Clemson, including a 51-19-14 record since 2013 and an appearance in last season's national title game. Georgia Southern head coach John Murphy is plenty familiar with Noonan as he has coached on two of Noonan's staffs at Brown University (1995-98) and Clemson (2010-11). Murphy was instrumental in recruiting two top-20 recruiting classes during his time with the Tigers and those classes helped guide the Tigers to the 2014 ACC Tournament Title and the 2015 College Cup Final appearance.

The Tigers are currently ranked eighth nationally and fifth in the South Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) with a 9-2-4 overall record and a 5-2-1 mark at Riggs Field. Clemson has played eight teams ranked in the top-25, going 4-2-2 in those contests. Clemson has out-scored its opposition 22-10. Most recently, the Tigers played No. 6 Syracuse to a 0-0, double-overtime draw on Saturday, Oct. 21 at home in front of 3,120 fans. Tuesday night will be Senior Night for the Tigers as it will be the final regular-season home game.

Clemson has been led this season by Diego Campos' five goals and Austen Burnikel's three. Campos also leads the team with 13 points, 40 shots and three game-winning goals. Oliver Shannon has a team-best four assists on the year while Campos and Grayson Raynor each have three. Four players, Shannon, Thales Moreno, Andrew Burnikel and Patrick Bunk-Anderse have played in all 15 games for the Tigers while four others have played in 14 matches. In goal, Ximo Miralles has started 13 games and played over 1,252 minutes with a 0.65 goals against average. He has made 43 saves, compared to giving up just nine goals, and boasts a 7-2-4 record with seven shutouts.

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GEORGIA SOUTHERN EIGHTH IN SOUTHEAST REGION POLL
Georgia Southern moved up to eighth in the NSCAA Southeast Region poll last week. The Eagles are one spot ahead of rival Georgia State. Charlotte unseated Florida Gulf Coast for first in the Southeast, with FGCU falling to second. Kentucky is third, South Carolina fourth and Sun Belt Conference foe Hartwick was fifth as of Tuesday, Oct. 18.

EAGLES AGAINST TEAMS RANKED IN THE SOUTHEAST REGION POLL
Saturday night's 2-1 victory over Hartwick marked the fourth time this season that the Eagles have defeated a team ranked in the top-10 of the NSCAA Southeast Region Poll. Hartwick entered the week fifth in the region. Earlier this year, the Eagles beat Stetson (seventh) on Sept. 2, North Florida (fifth) on Sept. 24, and Georgia State (ninth) on Oct. 8. The wins over the Hatters and Panthers came on the road.

MOVING ON UP THE RPI STANDINGS
Georgia Southern has been moving up the NCAA Rating Percentage Index (RPI) in the last few weeks. The RPI is a ranking system used to rank teams based upon the team's record and strength of schedule. Two weeks ago, the Eagles were 151 before moving up to 141 last week. This week, GS is 113, marking a 28 spot increase after going 1-0-1 against Presbyterian and Hartwick. The Eagles boast wins this season over four top-100 teams in North Florida (24), Mercer (48), Georgia State (63) and Hartwick (83) and they also tied Coastal Carolina (47).

BEST IN THE PEACH STATE
The state of Georgia features three NCAA Division I men's soccer programs in Georgia Southern, Georgia State and Mercer. Earlier this season, the Eagles defeated both programs on the road to stand alone atop the Peach State. In those games, GS out-scored the Panthers and Bears 5-2.

THE RACE FOR THE SUN BELT CONFERENCE REGULAR-SEASON TITLE
With two weeks left in the regular-season, the race for the top spot in the Sun Belt Conference is still wide open and it could come down to the final weekend of games. Currently, Georgia Southern and Coastal Carolina are atop the standings with seven points each. However, the Eagles are undefeated in conference play with a 2-0-1 record while the Chanticleers are 2-1-1 with a loss to Hartwick.

Behind the Eagles and Chants, Georgia State is third with six points and a 2-1 league mark while Hartwick and Appalachian State are tied for fourth with four points each. The Hawks are 1-1-1 while the Mountaineers are 1-2-1. Howard is sixth with a 0-3 SBC record.

This weekend, Georgia Southern travels to Howard while Hartwick travels to Atlanta to take on Georgia State. The final weekend of the season will see Howard travel to Hartwick, Georgia State travel to Coastal Carolina and App State will travel to Statesboro.

WILSON, LAURSEN, FJAER AMONG NATION'S BEST IN FIVE STATISTICAL CATEGORIES
Junior forward Blake Wilson, sophomore Emil Laursen and redshirt freshman Torgeir Fjaer are all in the top-50 in the national rankings for individual performances.

Wilson is currently tied for 26^th in goals scored (8) and tied for 50^th in total points (18). Laursen is tied for 27^th in the nation with three game-winning goals. Fjaer is currently tied for 12^th nationally with 5.45 saves per game and is tied for 43^rd with a .800 save percentage.

Wilson is also atop the Sun Belt Conference standings with 43 shots and he is currently second in the lague with 2.87 shots per game, 18 points, 1.20 points per game, eight goals scored and 0.53 goals per contest. Laursen is tied for tops in the conference with his three game-winners. Fjaer is second in the Sun Belt with 5.45 saves per outing and his .800 save percentage has him third in the league. He is also third in the Sun Belt with a 1.28 goals against average.

LAST TIME OUT
For the past two seasons, the Hartwick Hawks have been the team to beat in the Sun Belt Conference, claiming the 2014 and 2015 regular-season titles as well as both conference tournament titles. Saturday night, the Georgia Southern men's soccer team knocked off the Hawks 2-1 at Eagle Field in what was a thrilling matchup between two teams atop the conference standings.

The Eagles dominated the time of possession for much of the game, especially in the first 60 minutes. GS came out fired up in the first half and kept the ball on Hartwick's side of the field for most of the first period, taking nine shots and six corner kicks. The Eagles' tenacity paid off in the 21^stminute when freshman forward Josh Bronstorph scored on an open net after the Hawks' goalkeeper misplayed a previous shot and ran into his own player.

The Eagles didn't slow down from there, continuing to search for an insurance goal. That goal came in the 58^th minute when sophomore defender Emil Laursen netted his third goal, the eventually game-winner, off a brilliantly placed left-footed corner kick from freshman Sander Wang. Hartwick was able to pull back within one goal in the 69^th minute with a goal from Hamish Ritchie, but the Eagles' defense remained resolute with Laursen, Nick Wells, Justin Little, Rasmus Juul and goalkeeper Torgeir Fjaer finding ways to clear out Hartwick's attempts to find the equalizer.

With the win Saturday night, Georgia Southern remains atop the conference standings, joined by Coastal Carolina with seven points each. The Chanticleers defeated Howard 2-0 in Conway, S.C., Saturday night, but CCU lost 1-0 earlier this year to Hartwick while the Eagles do not have a blemish on their conference mark. Georgia State also defeated Appalachian State 1-0 in Boone, N.C., Saturday night. Prior to the week, Georgia Southern, Hartwick, App State and Coastal all entered the weekend with four points atop the conference standings.

NEXT UP
Following Tuesday's game against the Tigers, the Eagles will remain on the road for the final road game of the regular-season. GS will travel to Washington, D.C. on Saturday, Oct. 29, to take on Howard in a Sun Belt Conference match. The Eagles and Bison will kick off at 7 p.m.


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