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MORROW, Ga. – In their final regular season home action, Clayton State (8-4-1, 4-3-0 PBC) delivered the knockout blow early as they dominated Georgia Southwestern (1-9-2, 0-6-1 PBC) 5-1 in an NCAA Division II men's soccer game on Wednesday, October 21. The game also served as Senior Night, with five seniors honored prior to the contest.

It took all of 14 seconds for the Lakers to set the tone as senior midfielder Avery Shepard (Kennesaw, Ga.) touched the ball to the foot of junior forward Sekou Thornell (Atlanta, Ga.), who drilled home the go-ahead goal for a 1-0 lead.

Less than eight minutes later Thornell would strike again, this time pounding a pass from senior midfielder Jonny Evans (Seaham, England) into the back left corner of the net for a two goal advantage at 7:42.

Just over 20 minutes gone by, it would be senior midfielder Eamonn Smith's (Flowery Branch, Ga.) turn to make his way into the boxscore. Off of a corner kick from sophomore defender Aleksi Tuominen (Helsinki, Finland), Smith got a head on the ball next to the far left post, putting it in for a 3-0 margin.

That score would hold up into the second half but would continue to grow in the 64th minute. Graduate forward Iain Smith (Suwanee, Ga.) served a ball from the right endline to the middle of the box where Shepard headed it in for his league leading ninth goal of the year.

Trailing 4-0, GSW would get a prime opportunity to get on the board as a result of a handball in the box. Jamie Wall converted on that attempt, placing it in the back left corner to close to 4-1 at 76:44. As time wound down, the Lakers weren't done yet. With three seconds to play, Shepard collected a loose ball in front of the net and powered it home for his 10 score this season, reaching the final margin of 5-1.

Wall produced the only offense for the Hurricanes while Garrett Blamire played 45 minutes in net, surrendering 3 goals and making one save to fall to 1-6-1. He was relieved by Joshua Swift at the start of the second half, who gave up two more scores and made a pair of saves in 45 minutes.

Shepard led the way for Clayton State with a pair of goals and an assist while Thornell had a career-high two scores. Eamonn Smith would add the only other goal while Tuominen, Evans and Iain Smith each chipped in with an assist. In net, senior goalkeeper Viltsu Tuumi (Pori, Finland) played a scoreless 63:50, making one save to earn the win and improve to 6-3-1 on the year.

The Lakers are back in action as they hit the road for a pair of games, beginning at USC Aiken on Friday, October 23. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m. in Aiken, S.C.

NOTES
Prior to the game, five seniors were recognized for their contributions to Clayton State men's soccer … honored were Jonny Evans, Nikola Gazibara, Avery Shepard, Eamonn Smith and Viltsu Tuumi.