ATLANTA, Ga. – The Coastal Carolina men's soccer team defeated the Georgia State Panthers, 1-0, in its Sun Belt Conference opener on Saturday night in Atlanta, Ga.

With the win, Coastal improves to 2-5-0, 1-0-0 Sun Belt, while Georgia State falls to 3-4-1, 0-1-0 Sun Belt.

The Chants looked to snatch an early lead when Robert Valdimarsson and Evan Howard took back-to-back shots in the seventh minute, but the Panthers' defense took care of the danger to hold the score at 0-0.

George State flipped the momentum over the next 30 minutes, outshooting the Chants 4-2 while forcing Coastal keeper Tristan Himes to make two saves to keep the score at a stalemate.

Coastal applied pressure in the final five minutes of the half, taking three shots, but couldn't break through to keep the score level at 0-0.

At the end of the first frame, CCU led 7-4 in shots and 4-3 in corner kicks.

In the 65^th minute, Howard gave the Chants the lead when he hammered home a penalty kick to put CCU up 1-0.

Loed Klaasen looked to extend Coastal's lead in the 82^nd minute when he weaved his way through the Panthers' defense, but his shot was blocked away to keep the score at 1-0.

Coastal held Georgia State to just one shot in the remainder of the match to secure the 1-0 win.

The Chanticleers will return home to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. ET.

For complete coverage of CCU men's soccer, follow the Chants on social media @CoastalMSoccer (X), facebook.com/CCUChanticleers (Facebook), @GoCCUSports (Instagram), or visit the official home of Coastal Carolina Athletics at goccusports.com