Holmes' Brace Lifts Eagles Over Stetson

Friday, September 6

Deland, Fla.

7 PM

Georgia Southern University

2-0-1, 0-0-0

Stetson

1-3-0, 0-0-0

Ga. Southern

Stetson

9/6/2024 11:16:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

DeLand, Fla. --- The Georgia Southern men's soccer team defeated the Stetson Hatters 2-1 on Friday night, September 6th, to give the Eagles their second win in the first three matches of the season. Their now 2-0-1 record is their best start to a season since 2018.

The start of the match saw Stetson produce three shots in the first 15 minutes as the offensive tempo was on the Hatters' side. However, the Eagles would be the one to erase the zeroes on the scoreboard. After a well-executed attack in the 16th minute to get the ball deep in opponent territory, a cross in from Ricky Louis to the left side of box led to a touch from sophomore Ryan Holmes who buried it in the back of the net for a Georgia Southern lead.

Heading into the half, the Hatters led in shots with a 7-4 margin, with the two teams drawing even with five fouls each and three shots on target. However, a rain delay that lasted just over an hour in central Florida left both teams antsy for the second half.

After the teams resumed play, the two offense tested the waters of the slick pitch but it was the Eagles who unfortunately made the first big mistake as confusions led to an own goal that favored Stetson in the 56th minutes to even up the match. The remnants of the second half saw whistles galore, as the two squads combined to be called for 34 combined fouls; the most in a match since September 28, 2021, also against Stetson. It was these fouls though, that proved to lead to the Hatters' demise.

In the 72nd minute, Louis found himself with space in the opposing end and made his way into the box where he was fouled by Stetson's Rafael Pinzon. Holmes was the man tasked with taking the corner kick and he sunk for his first career brace as an Eagle and the first since Jacob Sandun on October 22, 2023 against Old Dominion.

The Eagles, who had not allowed a goal in their previous two matches, held strong on the back line to close out the late night finish with the 2-1 victory. The Hatters outshot the Eagles 14-8 and dominated in the corner kick department with their ten to just two for the Eagles. Six yellow cards were issued, with four going against Stetson. The 16 Georgia Southern fouls were the most since September 22nd, 2023, where they had 21 in the draw against West Virginia, while the 18 Stetson fouls were the most by an opponent since September 5th, 2021 where Wofford were whistled 20 times. Nate Martinez also picked up four more saves to his collection along with the all-important win.

Up next, the Eagles stay in the Sunshine State as they travel to North Florida for a contest on Monday, September 9th, with kickoff set for 7 pm at Hodges Stadium.