Tournament Time: GSU Battles Tribe in CAA Opener

November 9, 2011

Harrisonburg, Va.--The Georgia State men's soccer team looks to continue a successful season in its first-ever Colonial Athletic Association Tournament match against William & Mary on Thursday (5 p.m.).

Georgia State is seeking its first win in a postseason tournament since a 2-1 victory in overtime over Belmont in the first round of the 2004 Atlantic Sun Tournament. GSU is making its 14th appearance in a conference tournament and holds an 18-8 (.692) all-time mark.

The sixth-seeded Panthers take on the third seed William & Mary in the opening match of the conference tournament. It's a rematch of the team's prior meeting which GSU took 1-0 on Oct. 3 upsetting then No.22-ranked William & Mary at Panthersville.

Junior Gimel Gordon scored the game's only goal on a spectacular individual effort in the 80th minute. Gordon raced down the right side and fired a shot high and just inside the near post that sparked the Panthers to victory. It was Gordon's second goal of the season and seventh of his stellar career at GSU.

The win over the Tribe was a historic one for head coach Brett Surrency and the Panthers. It marked the first time the Panthers had beaten a top 25-ranked opponent at home in school history. The triumph was also GSU's first over a ranked opponent since it beat No. 6 Clemson 2-1 in 2001 in Clemson, S.C.

A key difference in the rematch is Georgia State's presence in net. Starting goalkeeper Vincent Foermer didn't play in the Oct. 3 victory for GSU after he was injured just under than a month earlier in a 2-1 win over Mercer. Redshirt freshman CJ Cochran stepped in and delivered a shutout, his third consecutive one at the time, to seal the victory over the Tribe.

Foermer, who has allowed just two goals in GSU's final four matches, is on pace to break the Panthers' single-season record for goal against average. His 0.82 goals against average would be the lowest for one GSU goalkeeper in a season (Min. 1,000 minutes).

A Panthers victory would mean a chance for redemption against No. 18 Old Dominion on Friday. The second-seeded Monarchs knocked off GSU 3-2 in overtime in Norfolk, Va., on Oct. 19. A first round match between fourth-seeded Delaware and fifth-seeded Northeastern will directly follow GSU's match at 7:30 p.m.

Follow all the action from Harrisonburg, Va., this weekend with Tournament Central on www.GeorgiaStateSports.com. Check back on Thursday for a live blog of Georgia State's first CAA Tournament match in school history. Live updates will be provided of all the action as well on the Georgia State men's soccer twitter page at @GSUMensSoccer.

www.GeorgiaStateSports.com

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