MORROW, Ga. – In what would be a high scoring affair, Clayton State (1-8, 0-4 PBC) went back-and-forth with Francis Marion (3-6-1, 2-2-0) before falling by a 5-3 score in an NCAA Division II men's soccer game on Saturday, October 1.
 
The Lakers would get on the board almost immediately as junior forward Kevin Otokore (Paris, France) raced down the field off the opening kick and delivered the ball to the back of the net just nine seconds into the game. He would be followed 14 minutes later by freshman midfielder Will Summerfield (Bedford, England) who cut down the middle of the field and put a low line drive in for a 2-0 advantage at 14:17.
 
The Patriots finally broke through in the 32^nd minute and ignited a bevy of scoring. Levin Sandmann connected for his fourth goal of the season at 31:43 to cut it to 2-1 before senior forward Bilal Nakhli (Paris, France) answered just 70 seconds later to push to a 3-1 margin. Both freshman midfielders Will Summerfield (Bedford, England) and Shams Elakabawy (Amsterdam, Holland) collected assists on the bang-bang play.
 
FMU once again had an answer, this time in the form of Oliver Drakenhammar, who powered a ball high past the keeper at 33:47 to get back to within a goal. It was a margin that wouldn't stay that way for long as Sandmann entered the fray once again, delivering the equalizer off of a Mathias Hjort pass at 34:50. Less than 10 minutes later, he would capitalize on a pass from Drakenhammar and put the Patriots up 4-3 just before the half.
 
It would remain a one goal margin for the better part of the second half but that would change in the 72^nd minute. Hjort found Drakenhammar with a pass from the right of the goal, which was then drilled to the back of the net for a 5-3 margin. FMU's defense would then make that stand up as the final margin around 18 minutes later.
 
Summerfield led Clayton State with a goal and an assist while Nakhli and Otokore added solo scores. In goal, freshman goalkeeper Leuri Fraire (Dalton, Ga.), played all 90 minutes and surrendered all five goals while making five saves. He falls to 1-4 on the year.
 
Sandmann notched a hat trick to pace Francis Marion while Drakenhammar wasn't far behind with a pair of scores and an assist. Hjort added two assists to round out the offense. Jordan Le Guyader started and played the first 34:50, allowing three goals against just one save before being relieved by Jonathan Mannes. The latter played the last 55:10 and posted a clean sheet with three saves to move to 2-3-1.
 
The Lakers are back in action when they travel to Erskine (5-2-0, 3-0- CC) for the first of two straight non-conference contests. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in Due West, South Carolina.