DAHLONEGA, Ga. – Junior midfielder Jonny Evans (Seaham, England) delivered a goal and an assist as Clayton State (6-4-1, 3-2 PBC) picked up a 3-1 road victory over North Georgia (3-8-1, 2-3 PBC) in an NCAA Division II men's soccer game on Wednesday, October 15. With the win, the Lakers move into the top four of the Peach Belt.

After 43 minutes of scoreless play, it would be Clayton State that broke the stalemate as Evans took a pass from junior defender Nikola Gazibara (Belgrade, Serbia) and promptly deposited it in the lower left corner of the goal for a 1-0 lead. The score would stay that way for another 27 minutes until the Atlanta, Ga. connection of senior midfielder Arturo Cruz and sophomore forward Sekou Thornwell came together to make it 2-0 with the latter getting the goal at 70:54.

Approaching the final minutes of the game, UNG made it interesting as Daniel Bowlt converted off of a free kick from 20 feet out to narrow the margin to 2-1 at the 85:49 mark. Not taking any changes of any late game heroics by the Nighthawks, the Lakers' made it 3-1 and put the game away as Evans found leading scorer and junior midfielder Avery Sheppard (Kennesaw, Ga.) at 88:52. That final blow took the fight out of North Georgia, giving Clayton State a hard-fought 3-1 victory.

Sheppard and Thornwell had solo goals to pace the Lakers while Evans had a goal and an assist and Cruz and Gazibara each had an assist. Senior goalkeeper Nick Punter (Suffolk, England) went the distance, allowing just the one goal and making four saves to improve to 4-4-1 on the season.

Bowlt delivered the only score for UNG and was one of five players to fire off a pair of shots, each putting just one of those on net. Victor Ohlin played all 90 minutes in net and surrendered all three goals along with making four saves.

Clayton State is back in action on Saturday, October 18 when they travel to Francis Marion. Game time is set for 5 p.m. in Florence, S.C.