STATESBORO - Coastal Carolina used two first-half goals in a 48-second span to spark a 3-0 Sun Belt Conference men's college soccer victory over host Georgia Southern on Friday evening at Eagle Field.

The win clinches the top seed in next week's 2020 Sun Belt Conference Championships for the Chanticleers (5-1, 5-1 SBC). Coastal Carolina will face fourth-seeded Georgia Southern (1-8, 0-6 SBC) in a first-round matchup on Friday, March 13, at 4 p.m.

The first goal of the match came courtesy of Marcello Jones, who dribbled the ball down the left flank and inside the box for the Chanticleers. Cutting across, Jones' shot then curled inside the far post for the tally at the 14:05 mark of the first half.

Just 48 seconds later, Jones' cross from the left side found an open Noah Glorioso on the doorstep, and his one-touch shot gave Coastal a 2-0 lead, which they would take into halftime. The Chanticleers held a 6-0 edge in shots at the break.

The second saw just one goal, a long-range shot from the Chanticleers' Claudio Repetto that hit off of the hands of a diving Georgia Southern goalkeeper Jose Eduardo Bomfim, then caromed off the left post and into the net for the final 3-0 margin.

Coastal Carolina enjoyed a 15-3 edge in shots on the evening. Bomfim made three saves in net for the Eagles. Coastal Carolina held a 7-3 edge in shots, and Georgia Southern was whistled for 17 fouls on the evening, compared to 16 for the Chanticleers. Coastal Carolina was offsides 10 times on the evening and Georgia Southern was offsides once.

HEAD COACH JOHN MURPHY COMMENTS

"Goals change games, and they switched the ball out well for the first goal. We were vulnerable in that area, and these are things you have to try to adjust on the fly. You can't wait for a stoppage or a time out. Unfortunately, while we're trying to make adjustment, they hit us down the same side again. And that can happen in our sport, just like that. There's a fluidness to it that can work to your advantage, but unfortunately it worked to our disadvantage. And that changed the game. 

"The goal at the end makes it a more handsome win for them, but at the end of the day, we're conceding goals and not creating enough chances. That's the bad news. The good news is, we have a week to fix it, and we'll play Coastal Carolina again when it really matters, in the semifinals. All records are out the window at that points. I believe we're going to fix it during the week and give a much better performance next Friday."