ATLANTA - The Georgia State men's soccer team (1-0-1) travels to Florida to take on two non-conference foes this weekend.
On Friday, the Panthers take on Florida Atlantic, from the Mid-American Conference, at 7 p.m. in Boca Raton, Fla. They finish the weekend with on Sunday against Florida International, from Conference USA, at 1 p.m. in Miami, Fla.
"With two games on the weekend, fitness is very important and it was something we were working on in practice this week," said head coach Brett Surrency. "We will definitely be challenged on the fitness side of things."
The Panthers are coming into the weekend after earning a win and a tie in the first week of the regular season. State earned a 2-1 overtime victory against Gardner-Webb to open the season and tied USC Upstate in double overtime, 1-1, in their home opener last Saturday.
"We identifed some things after breaking down the film from our first two games," said Surrency. "The team needs to be sharper and crisper in the attacking third."
The Owls will host the Panthers in their home opener on Friday night after losing its first two matches to start the season. Their latest result was a 4-0 setback on the road against UCF last Friday.
Florida International is returning home after a season-opening tournament in Chicago, Ill. against UIC and DePaul. FIU defeated UIC, 1-0, in double overtime and lost to DePaul, 1-0, on Sunday in the final game of the tournament.
"We want to improve on some of the things we have worked on in practice this week," said Surrency. "At the end of the day, every non-conference game is a building block towards the conference season."
Through the first two games of the season, every goal has been scored from a sophomore thanks to Gimel Gordon, Alejandro Reyes and Alex Vivanco. Reyes leads the team in points with one goal and one assist.
Georgia State returns home on Fri. Sept. 17 to host Presbyterian College at 6 p.m. in Panthersville.
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