Men's Soccer | 11/15/2015 8:11:00 AM

BOONE, NC – The top two teams in the Sun Belt Conference this season will go head to head for the Sun Belt Conference Men's Soccer Championship at Appalachian State's Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex in Boone, NC today at 1 p.m.
           
The top-seeded Hartwick Hawks, who went unbeaten in league play this season, square off against #2 seed Georgia State. The Panthers' only loss was to 'Wick on October 24 on Elmore Field by a 1-0 final.
           
The Hawks got through to the finals following a 1-0 shutout of host Appalachian State in the semifinal round on Friday night. Leading scorer and Sun Belt Offensive Student-Athlete of the Year Jamie O'Grady (Falkirk, Scotland/Falkirk) got the game's lone goal in the 67^th minute with Dean Fowler (Sydney, Australia/Colo) and Wyatt Scott (Cicero, NY/Cicero-North Syracuse) picking up assists.
           
The Panthers advanced after battling back from a 3-0 first-half hole to tie the game at 3-3. They were one kick away from being eliminated in the penalty-kick shootout but survived to advance, 5-4.
           
In the only meeting of the two teams in October, Scott netted the winner in the 55^th minute from Jack Miller (Commack, NY/Commack) and O'Grady, and the Hawks were able to shutout a Panther attack which has tallied 41 goals in 17 matches (2.41/game) this season to rank third nationally in scoring offense.   
           
Both teams are ranked in the Southeast Region. The Hawks sit eighth with the Panthers are ranked tenth.
           
Today's winner receives an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. The Hawks look to make their 25^th appearance as a program and the first back-to-back appearances since the team made five tournaments in a row from 1983-87.
           
To watch the championship on ESPN3.com click here. The match can also be viewed on the WatchESPN app. Jonathan Yardley has the play by play with color commentary from Eddie Rodriguez.