AMERICUS, Ga. – A new era of Georgia Southwestern State University men's soccer opened in impressive fashion Thursday night.
Playing in front of the second-largest crowd in program history, the Hurricanes controlled Andrew College from start to finish in a 4-0 victory at Hurricane Field, giving head coach
Bailey Guffin a win in his first match at the helm of the program.
A crowd of 1,205 packed Hurricane Field for the ninth annual Under the Lights celebration, which featured a post-match fireworks show and saw GSW open its season with a victory for the third consecutive year.
The Hurricanes (1-0) outshot Andrew 30-3, including a 19-1 advantage in shots on goal, and held a 13-0 edge in corner kicks while four goals came from three different players.
Sean Carlos Rivera provided the breakthrough in the 30th minute.
After GSW spent much of the opening half applying pressure,
Mane Birovljev connected with Rivera for the game's first goal at the 29:57 mark, sending the Hurricanes into halftime with a 1-0 advantage.
The scoreline was the only thing close about the opening 45 minutes. GSW generated 13 shots to Andrew's two and forced Fighting Tigers goalkeeper Teagan Paulo into nine first-half saves.
The Hurricanes turned that pressure into three more goals after the break.
Jesus Duque doubled the lead in the 66th minute, finishing off an assist from
Mateo Acuna Marmol at the 65:03 mark to give GSW some breathing room.
Theo Hoang then put the match away with a pair of goals over the final 14 minutes.
Hoang scored his first of the night in the 77th minute off an assist from
Kimoni Mills before the duo connected again at 83:34 for GSW's fourth and final goal. Hoang finished with two goals on three shots, placing all three attempts on frame, while Mills recorded assists on both of his goals.
Rivera was active throughout the night, finishing with a team-high five shots and two attempts on goal to go along with his first-half score.
Juan Franco led the Hurricanes with six shot attempts, while Acuna Marmol finished with four.
GSW's depth was on display as well, with three of the Hurricanes' four goals coming from players who entered the match as substitutes. Duque and Hoang combined for three goals, while Acuna Marmol and Mills combined for three assists off the bench.
At the other end of the field, the Hurricane defense allowed just three shots all night and only one on target. Goalkeeper
Javier Barbosa stopped Andrew's lone shot on goal in the 57th minute to preserve the clean sheet.
Paulo finished with 15 saves for Andrew (0-1) as the Hurricanes kept him under pressure throughout the evening, attempting 17 shots and earning eight corner kicks in the second half alone.
Next Up
- GSW hits the road for the first time this season with a trip to Daytona Beach on Saturday to take on Embry-Riddle at 6 p.m. The Hurricanes won 1-0 in Americus last fall and tied 2-2 in the last trip to ERAU back in 2024.
