Statesboro, Ga. --- The Georgia Southern men's soccer team drew to a 0-0 result in their home opener against the Seahawks of UNCW on Sunday evening (August 24th).

Despite the no-goals result to either side, it was a physical and aggressive contest. Across the match, seven yellow cards were distributed in total, with four of them being shown to the Eagles. The chances did come for both sides, however, as the Seahawks would amount to eight shots in the first half. The fifteenth minute saw back-to-back shots from UNCW, the first of which being blocked, followed by a fantastic diving save from Eagle keeper Nate Martinez in the bottom corner to stop the attack.

Just 90 seconds later, a through ball would finally find a cutting Eagles, but the shot off Thomas Helgheim's foot was just a bit wide left. With just three minutes before the end of the period, Mitch Picksley would fire a shot from the edge of the box, but the stellar keeper play continued as UNCW's Trey Smiley made a save in the upper 90. It was an 8-3 shots advantage for UNCW in the first 45, and the Eagles managed to stave off four opposition corners as well in the frame.

The starting ten minutes of the final period saw four shots total from both sides, with Martinez making another save in that frame. However, the next 15 minutes saw both defenses settle and only have one shot attempted, which was a scorching live drive from UNCW that just missed high. In the 72nd minute, Southern saw their best chance of the game as a corner kick sent in perfectly found the head of Kevin Pierre towards the net, but a backwards diving Smiley between the sticks would keep the clean sheet. The final seven minutes of the contest resulted in six shots for the Seahawks, with on of them on target before the match's conclusion.

Martinez would make four saves on the night for the clean sheet, making it his second straight of the season as well as his tenth career. 2024 also saw the Eagles keep a clean sheet through their first two matches, and is the first time in school history of keeping clean sheets across the first two contests in back-to-back seasons.

The Seahawks would outshoot the Eagles 17-8, with only a 4-3 advantage to UNCW in shots on target. Southern's defense also warded off a whopping nine corner from UNCW, as the Eagles only attempted three. Twenty total foals were also called across both sides in the match. Finn Steele, who had an assist against Charlotte, took a team-high two shots with six other Eagles attempting one on the evening.

Next, the Eagles hit the road to Spartanburg, S.C. where they take on Wofford this upcoming Thursday (August 28th), whose only opponent of the season was a top-15 NC State squad. Kickoff is set for 7 PM at Snyder Field.