ROCK HILL, SC—After a seven day break the Winthrop men's soccer team will be back in action on Saturday, Sept. 21 when it travels to undefeated Georgia State.
 
GAME SNAPSHOT VS. GEORGIA STATE
WHO: Winthrop (1-4, 0-0 Big South) at Georgia State (3-0-2, 0-0 Sun Belt)
WHEN: Sept. 21, 2019 / 7 p.m.
WHERE: Atlanta, GA (GSU Soccer Field)
BROADCAST: NONE
LIVE STATS: Statbroadcast
FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @Winthropsoccer
TICKETS: Free Admission

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS GEORGIA STATE
Eagles and Panthers meet for the 5^th time and for the 3^rd straight season. In last year's meeting in Rock Hill, the Panthers scored three straight goals in the second half to earn a 3-1 victory. Georgia State leads the all-time series 3-1 and is 2-0 at home against the Eagles. The last time the two teams met up in Atlanta the game went to double overtime with the Panthers awarded a penalty kick in the 107^th minute as Rashid Alarape buried it for the golden goal.      
 
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Off to their best start since 2010, the Panthers have not lost a game this season and are 2-0 at home. This game will mark the 4^th contest against a member of the Big South as the Panthers have defeated Presbyterian College 2-1 on the road and tied UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb on the road. The offense is ranked 19^th in the country at 2.25 goals per game and led by junior Aris Briggs, who has six goals in five games (entered the week tied for 5^th nationally). The Panthers have scored at least two goals in all five games this season. Entering the week the Panthers were ranked 9^th in the United Soccer Coaches Southeast Region.
 
A GLANCE AT THE EAGLES
Eagles are still looking to end their losing skid and find the back of the net since the 4-3 loss at Mount St. Mary's. Senior Jordan Walshaw leads the offense with five points (goal, 3 assists) while Jonathan Foster and Daniel Vicaria Barker are second with three points. Aidan McCormick has been in net the last three games and has 22 saves on the season (5.5 per game). This is the first of three trips to the state of Georgia this season for the Eagles. The last time the Eagles won a game in the state of Georgia was 2013 when they won four that year. The Eagles started that year with 2-1 wins over Georgia Southern and Wofford in the Big South/SoCON Challenge. Then a few weeks later won 2-1 at Mercer and 5-2 over Stetson in the Mercer Classic. Winthrop has faced or will face some of the nation's top scoring team's as Longwood is currently 8^th, Furman is 9^th, Georgia Southern and Georgia State are 19^th, Campbell and Mount St. Mary's are 30^th.
 
10^th YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF 2009 BIG SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP
This season the Eagles celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the 2009 Big South Conference Championship team.
The Eagles were coming off a championship in 2008 as it lost some of the greatest players in the history of the program. The Eagles were still loaded with talent and after dropping the opener 3-1 at North Carolina State, they won five in a row. Heading into the Big South Tournament the Eagles were struggling, having lost three straight (outscored 10-1). Winthrop, seeded fourth, defeated Gardner-Webb in penalties to advance to the semifinals and then advanced to the championship after defeating top-seeded Coastal Carolina 4-2 in penalties. The Eagles went on to defeat Liberty 2-1 in the championship game, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season. Winthrop went on to lose 3-2 at 20^th-ranked Duke in the opening round of the NCAA College Cup.

BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
The Eagles were voted 7^th in the 2019 Big South Conference preseason poll. Winthrop returns nine players that started at least eight games from a team that was 3-5 in the league last year. The Eagles finished in 7^th last season, a point out of tying Longwood and USC Upstate for 6^th. Defending regular-season champion High Point is the preseason favorite while Radford and Campbell tied for 2^nd in the poll.
 
WHAT'S AHEAD
Winthrop returns to Eagle Field on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. against the College of Charleston in its final preparation before jumping into Big South Conference action on Sept. 28 at High Point.
 
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop men's soccer program follow the Eagles on Twitter (@Winthropsoccer), Instagram (@winthropsoccer) and Facebook (/WinthropUniversitySoccer).