MONTEVALLO, Ala. – In what appeared to be a pure mismatch on paper, it took until the second half for Clayton State (6-3, 2-1 PBC) to finally break through against Montevallo (1-6-2, 0-3 PBC) and earn a 3-0 victory in an NCAA Division II women's soccer game on Wednesday, September 30.

The Falcons, which entered the game having lost their last three outings, played perhaps their best game of the year for well into the second half. Through the first 59 minutes the Lakers fired off 13 shots as compared to UM's two before finally breaking through.

That would come at the 59:09 mark as All-American candidate senior midfielder Maria Marti Bartis (Girona, Spain) buried her eighth goal of the season for a 1-0 lead.  

Just over four minutes later, it would be the defense that would help power the offense as senior defender Saidhbh Collins (Dublin, Ireland) drilled home the second goal at 63:16. With less than three minutes to go, Collins would add a career-high second goal at 87:14 to reach the final margin of 3-0.

UM recorded just four shots for the entire game, two in each half, with Kourtnee Hayward notching two of them but neither on goal. Valerie George and Tayler Kukes each had one shot, both of which were on goal. In net, Ellie Mouyal started and played a scoreless 45 minutes, making three saves, before being relieved by Katie Pearson. The latter surrendered all three goals and made five saves to suffer the loss and fall to 0-1 on the year.

Collins led Clayton State with a pair of scores and Marti Bartis delivered the only other offense with her league-leading eighth goal of the year. In net, senior goalkeeper Charlotte McCormack (Wexford, Ireland) went the distance, making a pair of saves to record the 19th shutout of her career. She improves to 6-3-0 on the season with her third complete shutout of the season.

The Lakers return to action on Saturday, October 3 when they host Georgia College (4-2-2, 2-1-0 PBC). Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Laker Field.