VALDOSTA, Ga. – A three goal second half was enough to derail the season opener as Clayton State (0-1, 0-0 PBC) dropped a 3-1 decision at Valdosta State (2-0, 0-0 GSC) in an NCAA Division II women's soccer game on Sunday, September 3.
 
A battle of defensive minded teams, the game would head into the second half in a scoreless tie. That would be a situation that would change rapidly over the first 10 minutes as sophomore defender Manoly Baquerizo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) got the Lakers on the board at the 54:05 mark.
 
That 1-0 lead, however, would not last through the 55^th minute as VSU's Jordan Humbert notched the equalizer at 54:44. The Blazers would break through again less than 12 minutes later as Taylor Snell connected at 66:19 to make it 2-1.
 
Valdosta would reach the final margin of 3-1 when they collected an own goal at 83:05 before closing out the two goal victory.
 
Humbert and Snell handled all of the offense for VSU as they each delivered unassisted scores to lead the way. In net, Caroline Embler went the distance, making three saves and allowing just the one goal to move to 2-0 on the year.
 
Baquerizo picked up the lone points of the game for the Lakers as she notched her first goal of the season. Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Jessica Charman (Denham, England) played all 90 minutes and made eight saves while surrendering three goals. She drops to 0-1 on the season.
 
In a team-by-team comparison, the Blazers outshot Clayton State 22-6 with margin for shots on goal being 11-4.
 
The Lakers continue their season opening road trip as they head to Columbus, Georgia to take on Nova Southeastern on Friday, September 8. Game time is set for 5 p.m. as part of Columbus State's Collegiate Invitational.