Eagles Soar Past No. 15 Old Dominion, 3-1

Sunday, September 27

Statesboro

7 PM

Georgia Southern University

5-1-2, 1-0-1

#15 Old Dominion

8-2-0, 0-2-0

Team	1	2	Final F
Old Dominion	0	1	1
Ga. Southern	0	3	3

Mitch Picksley celebrates after a goal against No. 15 Old Dominion

9/28/2026 12:23:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

STATESBORO, Ga. — Georgia Southern scored three second-half goals to defeat No. 15 Old Dominion 3-1 Sunday night at Bo Pitts Field. The Eagles finished with a 12-4 advantage in shots and a 6-2 edge in shots on goal to earn their first Sun Belt Conference victory of the season.

In the first half, Old Dominion produced the first opportunity of the match, forcing Eagles Goalkeeper Nicolas Aristizabal to make a tough save in the fourth minute.

Georgia Southern's Broden Beorlegui attempted to answer less than a minute later with the Eagles' first chance, putting a shot on frame that was saved by Alexander Aguilar. The Monarchs added a shot and two corner kicks over the next 10 minutes before the match settled in. Georgia Southern generated a pair of late corner kicks before Charlie Votel sent the final shot of the half high in the 45th minute, sending the teams into halftime scoreless.

In the second half, the Eagles quickly increased the pressure, producing four shots and four corner kicks in the opening six minutes. Tomas Morales forced a save in the 54th minute before Mitch Picksley broke the scoreless tie in the 56th minute, firing a right-footed strike from outside the box into the top right of the net off an assist from Joe O'Connor to give Georgia Southern a 1-0 lead.

The Eagles continued to push as Toby Nevile put another shot on goal in the 63rd minute before Broden Beorlegui converted a penalty kick in the 69th minute to extend the advantage to 2-0.

Old Dominion responded with sustained pressure late in the match, earning four corner kicks between the 76th and 80th minutes before a VAR review confirmed a Jason Purks goal in the 81st minute to cut the Eagles' lead to 2-1.

Georgia Southern answered less than four minutes later when Beorlegui scored his second goal of the match and Sun Belt-leading eighth of the season off an assist from Ezra Amadi-Emina in the 85th minute, restoring the two-goal advantage. His eight goals rank second nationally. The Eagles held Old Dominion without another shot over the final five minutes to secure the 3-1 victory.

Beorlegui led the Eagles with two goals on four shots, putting three on frame, and recorded the game-winning goal. Picksley added a goal on his only shot of the match, while O'Connor and Amadi-Emina each recorded an assist. Votel finished with three shots, and Morales added two. Aristizabal played all 90 minutes in goal and recorded one save.

The Eagles improve to 5-1-2 overall and 1-0-1 in Sun Belt Conference play, while Old Dominion falls to 8-2-0 overall and 0-2-0 in conference play. The victory marks the second consecutive season Georgia Southern has defeated a top-15 opponent at home after the Eagles knocked off No. 4 Marshall last season.

"That was our most complete performance of the season. We knew the difficulty that ODU provides, and our boys stood up to that challenge throughout. Then, we had the quality to score three and look dangerous in other moments, too," Georgia Southern Head Coach Lee Squires said. "We knew it was really a must-win game if we're serious about our overall goals for the season. Now, it's important to reset and get ready for another tough opponent on Friday. But the league is wide open, and this win should give us great confidence moving forward."

Up next, the Eagles host Georgia State on Friday, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m. at Bo Pitts Field in Statesboro.