MORROW, Ga. – Taking on their rival and one of the top teams in the country, Clayton State (3-6, 1-4 PBC) could not overcome a balanced scoring effort as they dropped a 4-1 decision to No. 15 Columbus State (7-1, 4-1 PBC) in an NCAA Division II women's soccer game on Wednesday, October 4.
 
The Cougars would take advantage of an offensive opportunity early on as Kimmy May drove down to the far right side of the offensive end. From there she crossed the ball to the far left post where Cassandra Wade put it home for a 1-0 lead at 6:24.
 
The defense for the Lakers would recover from that early shock and settle in as they held Columbus State scoreless over the next 33 minutes. That would come to an end in the 40^th minute as Maddy Peterson crossed a ball to the left post that Amanda Murphy connected on to make it 2-0 with 39:30 gone by.
 
That margin would hold through the half and nearly 12 minutes into the second before the Cougars broke through again. It would be Murphy collecting a loose ball out on the far left wing and lofting it past the keeper to the back right corner for a three goal advantage at 56:59.
 
Olivia Jarrell would make it a 4-0 score 13 minutes later as she came away with a ball at the top of the box and delivered a hard shot to the back of the net. That would round out Columbus State's offense but the Lakers would manage to break through.
 
Benefitting from a foul in the box in the 79^th minute, sophomore defender Janne Brouer (Aarhus, Denmark) was awarded her second penalty kick of the season - and in as many home games. Just as she had against Georgia College (9/23) when she scored her first goal of her career, Brouer guessed correctly, going to the right side and burying the ball to the back corner to reach the eventual final margin of 4-1.
 
Murphy led the Cougars with a pair of scores while Wade and Jarrell each came away with one. May and Peterson would add assists to round out the offense. In goal, Bria Riancho started and played 74:58, making three saves and not allowing a goal to pick up the win and move to 7-1 on the year. Adianna Ortiz played the final 15:02, surrendering the goal on the penalty kick.
 
Brouer accounted for Clayton State's offense as she not only delivered her second career goal but second on a PK. Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Jessica Charman (Harefield, England) played all 90 minutes in net, allowing four goals and making five saves. She falls to 3-6 on the year.
 
In a drastic shift in opponents, the Lakers go from playing one of last year's national semifinalists to heading to first-year program Albany State on Saturday, October 7. Game time is set for 5 p.m. in Albany, Georgia.
 
NOTES
The goal by Brouer marked the first official score against Columbus State in the last five meetings … that stretch dated back to a 1-0 loss on November 15, 2013 in the NCAA Tournament … included among those was a game on October 18, 2014 that saw the Lakers post a 3-2 victory at Columbus but would later result in a forfeit … while the goals scored in that game count for the individual players, they do not for the team.