Clayton State University Athletics

MORROW, Ga. – Taking on one of the best teams in the country, Clayton State (2-9, 0-4 PBC) could not overcome a five goal second half as No. 6 Wingate (10-0, 7-0 PBC) notched a 6-1 victory in an NCAA Division II men's soccer game on Monday, October 10.
 
The Lakers would hold their own over the first 24 minutes before Wingate capitalized on an opportunity right in front of the goal. Elma N'For penetrated to the far right side of the goal before crossing a ball that wound up on the foot of Callum Ross just off the left side of the goal.
 
With 24:40 on the clock, he would power it low and hard to the back left of the net for a 1-0 lead. That margin would then hold up as the teams headed into the half just over 20 minutes later.
 
It would be a far different story at the start of the second half, however, as the Bulldogs came out firing. Just over three and a half minutes in, N'For found a streaking Jon Ander down the right sideline, where the latter proceeded to chip a ball past the keeper for a 2-0 advantage at 48:36.
 
It would take less than 10 minutes for the No. 6 team in the country to strike again as Ander then sent a corner kick to the left post of the goal at 57:18. There, Alex Nelson would collect it and put it to the back of the net to extend the lead to 3-0.
 
N'For would again have a hand in pushing the lead, this time to a four goal margin, 10 minutes later. He took advantage of a loose ball in front of the goal and found Mateo Correa who drove it home at the 67:27 mark. Jose Ojeda would then take a pass from Jack Miller at 88:12 and deposit in the back of the net for a 5-0 margin.
 
Minutes away from their fifth shutout of the season, graduate forward Iain Smith (Suwanee, Ga.) and junior midfielder Ryan King (County Durham, England) would not allow that. The pair of team captains hooked up with Smith finding King in front of the net, where he powered home his sixth goal of the year, this one with 88:43 gone by. Will Tomlinson then added a late goal with two seconds to play to round out the scoring and wrap the 6-1 decision.
 
King with his goal and Smith with the assist would notch the only offense for Clayton State. As a team, they registered only four shots with King delivering two of them. Freshman goalkeeper Leuri Fraire (Dalton, Ga.) went the distance and made a career-high 12 saves while allowing six goals. He is now 2-5 on the year.
 
N'For led the way for the Bulldogs with a goal and two assists while Nelson, Ross, Correa, Ojeda and Tomlinson each added solo scores. Ander notched a pair of assists and Jack Miller chipped in with one to round out the offense. In net, Pablo Jara came within minutes of his fifth shutout before settling for his 10^th win with one save and one goal allowed. He is now 10-0 on the season.
 
The Lakers are back in action on Wednesday, October 12 when they travel to Americus, Georgia to take on Georgia Southwestern. Game time is set for approximately 3:30 p.m. following the women's game against the Hurricanes.
 
NOTES
Clayton State now trails in the all-time series 0-2-1 … the Lakers earned the tie last season when Wingate was No. 23 in the country … tonight's meeting was the first between the teams at Laker Field with the first in the series coming in Wingate, North Carolina in 1997 … the most recent was a neutral site game in Greer, South Carolina last season.