The Georgia Southern men’s soccer team has had a rough patch of late. They have lost four of their past five games, most recently to Mercer on Friday and Jacksonville on Tuesday.

With just two more games until the team begins conference play, at rival Georgia State whom the team has not faced since last year Sun Belt Championship loss, Head Coach John Murphy hopes to right the ship.

“The coaching staff has to take responsibility for the mindset of the kids and the tactics and the preparation and the training,” he said. “I’m not gonna question the kids and their effort, so it’s up to the adults in the situation to be able to come up with proper uses of the resources that we have…We don’t look like we’re prepared properly.”

On Friday, Mercer scored back-to-back goals within two minutes to take an early lead. The game was exciting for fans, but very aggressive on the field. The Bears set a fast pace that GS could not take advantage of in the first half.

In the second period, junior midfielder Aldair Cortes put the Eagles on the board with a free kick. With this momentum, sophomore forward Adam Davie tied the game at minute 74.

The game winning goal for Mercer came from a trick move by the net, which bested sophomore goalkeeper Jokull Blaengsson. 

On Tuesday, GS fell to Jacksonville at the Armstrong Soccer Field after a scoreless 90 minutes of play, 1-0. Both teams attempted 15 shots during the physical game, while GS sophomore goalkeeper added five saves.

“Jose Eduardo Bomfim had a fantastic game in net, and if it weren’t for him, I think the score would have been much heavier in favor of them,” Murphy said. “To be second best at home, regardless of it being an alternate venue tonight, is not acceptable here. All of us have to take a look at ourselves and decide what kind of team we want to be this year.”

The team hopes to change things around on Friday when they take on Wofford at home at 7 p.m.