MORROW, Ga. – In their home opener Clayton State (2-0, 0-0 PBC) battled Valdosta State (0-1, 0-0 GSC) and made a two goal lead hold up as they secured a 2-1 decision in an NCAA Division II women's soccer game on Wednesday, September 7.
 
Clayton State would come out firing as they recorded 14 shots in the first half to VSU's four and capitalized on one of those to take the lead. After a playing scoreless for almost the entire half, despite that offensive assault, junior midfielder Tovin Saleh (Linkoping, Sweden) would get the Lakers on the board.
 
With the ball deep on the left side she lofted a shot that just cleared over top of the keeper to settle back into the net, giving Clayton State a 1-0 lead at the 43:35 mark. That margin would hold up not only into halftime but deep into the second half as both teams locked down defensively over the first 35 minutes.
 
That would change when junior forward Renee Gillespie (Kansas City, Kansas) darted down the right side and proceeded to chip a ball past the keeper to extend to a 2-0 advantage with 80:34 gone by. Down two, the Blazers did not give in as Megan Muffley gained separation from her defender deep on the right side.
 
With that space she fired off a low, hard shot that skipped past redshirt-junior Jessica Charman (Harefield, England) to cut it to 2-1 with just 1:11 remaining. With limited time left to them, that would be as close as they would get as the Lakers closed out their third straight 2-1 victory to open the season.
 
Muffley would lead the way with the only offense for VSU while Kayla Robles would fire off three shots, putting one on net. Logan Lindy would notch a pair of shots on goal. Defensively, Alyssa Curtis played all 90 minutes in net, surrendering both goals and making six saves to fall to 0-2 on the year.
 
Clayton State would get solo goals from Saleh and Gillespie, both the first of their careers, to fuel the offense. In net, Charman allowed just the one goal in 90 minutes and made five saves to improve to a perfect 3-0.
 
The Lakers return to action on Saturday, September 10 when they travel to Conference Carolinas Tournament Champions Limestone (1-1, 0-0 CC). Game time is set for 4:30 p.m. in Gaffney, S.C.
 
NOTES
The win over Valdosta State is the first in program history … with that win, the Lakers have now swept all three of their games against the Gulf South Conference – all to start the season … they defeated West Georgia (9/1) and Christian Brothers (9/3) in their first two games … prior to the game, OrthoAtlanta presented Clayton State Athletics with a check for $60,000 to renovate the athletic training room … it is the single largest donation in the department's history.