Redshirt-senior midfielder Ryan King (County Durham, England) delivered a tremendous performance that not only led to an undefeated week but a signature road win over a Top-10 team that kept them tied for first place in the Peach Belt Conference. On the week he finished with a whopping five goals for 10 points.
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King opened with a two goal performance in an 8-0 win over North Greenville (10/29) - and that in just 45 minutes of work. Following a burst of three goals in three and a half minutes, he would follow with a penalty kick (3-of-3 at that point) and a beautiful free kick from deep on the left wing. The latter would see him curve the ball into the upper left hand corner for an impossible to stop score.
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Taking on a much different opponent with a lot more on the line, King would not only match but exceed his performance against NGU. Taking on No. 7 Francis Marion (11/2) on the road in a showdown for first place in the PBC he got the Lakers on the board in the 23rd minute as he made it a perfect 4-of-4 on PK's.
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After seeing the game tied up in the opening seconds of the second half he answered back with a powerful header off a corner from Jack Clark in the 54th minute to regain the lead. The game would be tied back up minutes later and stay that way until midway through the second overtime. In true thrilling fashion, King was the one to take a free kick from the left wing and buried it deep in the left corner for the 3-2 game-winner at the 106:25 mark.
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All three of those goals came against FMU's Maximiliano Rocco, who had not given up more than two goals in a game all season and is the owner of eight shutouts. The latter tied him for fifth in the country.
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In terms of national rankings, as of October 31, he was fifth in goals per game, 10th in points per game, 11th in total goals and 16th in total points. Each of those categories will go up following the Francis Marion game. In the PBC he leads the league with 15 goals (by four over the next closest player) and points with 32. The latter is eight points ahead of the player in second place and he also leads in penalty kicks.
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