Offensive struggles continue for No. 13 Clayton State men in 1-0 defeat at Tusculum

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – October 8, 2011 – For the second straight game, the offensive struggles were the Achilles' Heal for the Clayton State Laker men's soccer team as the Lakers dropped another tough 1-0 decision on Saturday in non-conference action at Tusculum.

The defeat drops Clayton State, ranked 13th in the nation in Division II, to 7-4 overall. Tusculum improves to 4-6-1 overall.

The two teams battled to scoreless first half as neither could mount much of an offensive threat in the windy conditions. Each squad had two shots, including a shot wide left by the Lakers' Matty Phillips in the waning seconds of the first half.

However, the Pioneers got the break they needed early in the second half. Tusculum's Stephen McNeil scored what would be the game's lone goal in the 63rd minute off an assist by Roberto Pimentel.

Clayton State had some late chances to get the possible equalizer as Pioneer goalkeeper Andy Goellner made two key saves in the final 10 minutes. He made a big save on a shot by the Lakers' Kenny Mena in the 81st minute, and then robbed Phillips of the possible game-tying goal in the final minute.

Tusculum out-shot the Lakers 11-10. Clayton State goalkeerper Brian Garcia recorded three saves in the defeat, while Goellner recorded two for Tusculum.

Clayton State returns to Peach Belt Conference action on Wednesday, playing host to Georgia Southwestern at 7:30 p.m. at Laker Field.