Here’s what you missed over the weekend in Georgia Southern Athletics…

Men’s soccer

GS defeated Georgia State on the road on Saturday to add another point in the rivalry series behind strong performances by the underclassmen. GS went into the half 1-0 after a kick from transfer PJ Amponsah bested the 6-foot-7 Panther goalkeeper in the 37th minute.

The GS defense held GSU scoreless until four minutes before the end of regulation and tied the game. GS kept fighting and stayed calm throughout the excitement. With 29 seconds of play remaining, freshman forward Asgeir Kristjansson got an assist from junior forward Adam Davie and made his first collegiate goal, which would turn out to be the game winner. 

With this rivalry victory, GS improves to 6-5-1 overall and 1-0 in conference play.

What’s Next?

The team will play Central Arkansas in another Sun Belt matchup on Friday at 7 p.m.

Women’s soccer

The women’s soccer team fell to South Alabama on Friday, 3-0. GS was not able to stop the hot Jaguar first half, when all of the goals were scored. The Eagles did not take any shots in the second half, but senior goalie Lauren Karinshak notched a save.

GS continued the trend set by the men’s team of defeating in-state rival on Sunday, when they took down the Panthers, 2-0, at home.

Sophomore midfielder Nora Falnes started the Eagles off hot with a goal after just 25 seconds into the game. The team kept the momentum going as senior forward Frida Brattum scored what would be the game winning goal in minute 33 in an offensive mix up by the goal.

Sophomore goalkeeper Sallie Newton made her first collegiate start and saved eight attempts from GSU.

With this victory, GS improves to 5-7-1 overall and 2-3-1 in the conference.

What’s Next?

The team will continue their homestand this weekend when they take on Arkansas State on Friday at 5 p.m. and ULM on Sunday at 1 p.m. before going on the road next weekend for the last two games of regular season play.

Cross Country

The cross country team travelled to Tallahassee to compete in the Florida State Invitational where sophomore distance runner Merabu Nagwandala recorded a career best time of 18:00.7 in the 5k race. She finished ninth overall in the race of 228 participants. Sophomore Carley Braman ran a personal best of 19:22.8 in the same race, which contributed to an overall tenth place finish for the team. 

What’s Next?

The team will have one more undetermined race before competing in the Sun Belt Championships on Nov.2.

Volleyball

The volleyball team travelled to Texas where they dropped a pair of conference games.

In Friday’s game, UTA swept the Eagles, 3-0, and took advantage of GS inconsistency. GS only held the lead once the entire game, but sophomore hitter Baylor Bumford hit a .538 percentage in the match.

On Saturday, GS could not bounce back from the loss as the team could not surpass 15 points in the entire game against Texas State. The Bobcats are the defending Sun Belt Champions, who held the Eagles to a .139 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Carly Turner led the team with six kills.

What’s Next?

The team returns home to play ULM on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. and Louisiana on Friday at 6:30 p.m. 

Women’s Rifle

The team travelled to The Citadel and finished with three top 10 finishers. Freshman Lillian Herring shot a 557 in the smallbore, where she finished ninth in the division. Senior Lydia Odlin shot a 569 in air rifle to finish fourth in the division. The team scored 4,438 total points.

What’s Next?

The team will travel to Dahlonega next weekend to take on UAB and North Georgia.

Amanda Arnold, The George-Anne Sports Editor, gasports@georgiasouthern.edu