Norfolk, Va. --- The Georgia Southern men's soccer team defeated Old Dominion 2-1 in both squads' first Sun Belt action of the year on Friday night (September 19th).

An aggressive and physical start to the match would boil up into a red card for a Monarch after a scrum near the Eagles' bench in the 22nd minute. With the player advantage, the Eagles would capatalize just five minutes later as Ricky Louis sent a dribbling cross into the box where Ryan Holmes would just get a touch on the ball to find the back of the net. For Holmes, it was his first full match back after missing their last contest due to a suspension. After leading the team in goals and points in 2024, Holmes would finally break through for his first goal of the year. 

The Eagles finished out the half with a flurry of shots before making their way into the locker rooms. The large majority of the second half remained the same, as the Eagles controlled possession with their goal lead and opted to focus on defense. However, another opportunity presented itself in the 76th minute when Emil Seedorf sent a nearly identical cross as Louis' into the box where Holmes was once again there to poke a goal in while losing balance to double up the Southern lead. With Holmes' brace, it is now the Eagles' second in three matches for a brace to be had, and is Holmes' first multi-goal game since October 4th, 2024 against Coastal Carolina. 

The match would not swing in Southern's way for the next remainder, however. Only two minutes after the goal would see Louis pick up his second yellow card of the match. With it, the Eagles' leader in points and goals will have to miss the next match on the ledger. Along with it, the numbers game would now be even with a 10v10. The Monarchs ramped up their pressure after the card, trickling their way into possession before finally making their mark with five minutes remaining. A header that was just tapped in the box halved the lead for Old Dominion, but was just too little too late. 

Southern just edged out the Monarchs in shots, 11-9, with 23 fouls called on the night across the two sides. Eight cards were also issued, including a bench player for the Eagles and the Monarchs' coach.

For the Eagles, it would be their first Sun Belt win since October 27, 2024 against UCF, and their first win to start the Sun Belt slate since 2019. With the victory, it would also mark just the eighth all-time win as a ranked team in program history, and the fourth against a conference foe whilst being ranked. A now five match win-streak is the most in 28 years since that 1997 team, who won seven straight matches in the midst of being ranked as high as no. 14 in the nation.

A short break from Sun Belt play awaits the Eagles next as they travel to the coast to take on the College of Charleston. Kickoff at Patriots Point is set for this upcoming Tuesday (September 23rd) at 7 PM.