LAKEWOOD, NJ (Sept. 3, 2024) - Georgian Court Men's Soccer has advanced to the semifinals in the CACC Tournament each of the last two seasons. They'll look to take the next step in 2025, starting this week with pair of games to begin the season. 

Opponents (2024 Record)
Saint Michael's Purple Knights (9-8-1, 4-5 NE10)
Bentley Falcons (7-5-5, 4-4-1 NE10)

Where
Lakewood, NJ - GCU Track and Field Complex (Turf Field)

When
Thursday, Sept. 4 - 1 pm
Saturday, Sept. 6 - 2 pm

How to Watch
• Both matches are available to watch via a free-to-view broadcast on the Georgian Court portal of the CACC Digital Network. Links for videos and live stats can be found above and on the Lions Soccer schedule page. 

Previously vs. Saint Michaels
• This is year two of the four-team deal between Georgian Court, Saint Michael's, Bentley and Caldwell. Starting in 2024, these teams play each other to start the year through the 2027 season with a different host each year.
• Last year was the Lions first ever meeting against Saint Michael's and it also began their season.
• Georgian Court struggled offensively and a Purple Knights goal in the 19th minute stood up in the 1-0 win.
• Ayendi Batista got the start in goal and made four saves. 

Previously vs. Bentley
• Just like Saint Michael's, 2024, was the first ever meeting for Georgian Court against Bentley.
• The offense, specifically Gijs van Eif, came to life. He scored both Lion goals, one on a penalty kick for a 1-0 lead.
• Tied at one, van Eif scored the go-ahead goal in the 83rd minute as Mikey Mallon picked up the assist.
• Unfortunately, the Falcons tied the game with just over two minutes left to play and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. 
• Bentley peppered the net all night and though he allowed two goals, Sotirios Gkosdis made nine saves. 

Last Time Out
• For the second straight season, the Lions year came to a close in the semifinals of the CACC Tournament.
• GCU won 3-1 in the quarterfinals and as the No. 2 seed were home against No. 3 Felician.
• The Golden Falcons scored once in the seventh minute and added a second early in half number two for a 2-0 win. The Golden Falcons eventually went on to win the CACC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Regional. 

Individual Milestones
• Ayendi Batista needs two saves to reach 70 in his career.
• Mikey Mallon will get to 40 starts with two more. He's also two points away from 20. One more assist will bring him to a tie for second all-time in career assists. 
• Jack Pollintine-Smith is two points away from reaching 10.
• Gijs van Eif is two goals away from 20 in his career. 
• Two more games played will bring David Tuschmann to 50 at Georgian Court. His next goal scored will be his 10th and he'd be the 11th Lion to reach double-figure career goals. 

Preseason Rankings
• Despite finishing second in the regular season in 2024 and advancing to the CACC Tournament semifinals, Georgian Court was picked to finish fifth in the CACC by the league's coaches in the preseason poll. 
• The Lions were 8-3 in the CACC last year as they finished in second place in the standings. 
• Defending champions Felician were picked to repeat as conference champs. Post, who won the league's regular season last year, was picked to finish second. 

Brand New Starters
• Georgian Court graduated a lot of experience after 2024. 
• Of the 200 starts from field players in 2024, they get only 94 back from eight players who made starts in the field.
• The Lions are bringing back leading goal scorer Gijs van Eif and leading assist-man Mikey Mallon who were both named to the All-CACC Team.
• The defense will be helped out by the returns of Oscar Jannesson and Alessandro Cavallini.
• In net though, GCU has experience on their side with both Sotirios Gkosdis and Ayendi Batista back in the fold who have a combined 37 career starts in goal.

Scheduling Quirks
• All season long the Lions don't play more than two straight games at home or more than two straight on the road.
• Georgian Court opens the season at home for just the third time in program history. They started the year at home in their first season as a program in 2013. It then took until 2022 for the Lions season opener to be at home again. 

About Saint Michael's
• The Purple Knights finished 9-8-1 last season, matching their highest win total since 2007.
• They were just 4-5 in the NE10 regular season, and advanced to their first NE10 Conference Championship Tournament since 2015.
• Entering the 2025 season, Saint Michael's was picked to finish in a tie for sixth in the NE10 Preseason Poll.
• The Purple Knights bring back a senior in net in Garrett Smith who finished 8-6-1 with a 1.08 GAA and a .818 save percentage with six shutouts.
• Preventing goals wasn't the hard part as Saint Michael's allowed just 20 in 18 games. Only three times all season did SMC allow more than two goals in a game.
• Saint Michael's had difficulty capitalizing on their stellar defense, scoring just 24 goals themselves. Leading goal-scorer Ronnie Riby-Williams does return however after leading the Purple Knights with five goals and 11 points in 2024.
• SMC did a good job keeping out of foul trouble with just 32 yellow cards issued, while opponents were called for 39, more than two per game. 

About Bentley
• Bentley's season came to a heartbreaking end in 2024 following a 7-5-5 season. The Falcons were ousted in the NE10 Tournament after a scoreless 110 minutes, 8-7 in penalty kicks.
• The Falcons were a different team away from home. While playing in their friendly confines, Bentley was unbeaten at 6-0-1. However away from their home field, the Falcons were just 1-5-4.
• To start the season, Bentley was picked to finish fifth by the Northeast-10 coaches. 
• Bentley has a number of All-Conference returners to the lineup including goalkeeper Cam Hall who posted six shutouts last season.
• The defense is also strengthened by captain Luke Mollenhauer who's started 33 straight games.
• Bentley did lose their leading goal-scorer, but return their top striker from 2022 and 2023 in Lukas Drahos who was away from the team in 2024.