FLORENCE, S.C. – In what turned out to be a defensive battle, Clayton State (4-5, 0-2 PBC) came up one goal short as Francis Marion (5-3, 1-2 PBC) pulled out a narrow 2-1 decision in an NCAA Division II men's soccer game on Saturday, September 30.
 
In a game that would see a dearth of shots throughout the first half, just a combined nine, it would be FMU that would capitalize early. Just 12:40 in, Jordan Dechere pounded a shot that ricocheted off the keeper but would be collected by Damien Tergella in front of the net. He would put a foot on it and find the back of the goal for a 1-0 lead.
 
Not only would that margin hold through to half, it would stand up until the 88^th minute when Levin Sandmann setup Jonas Dovland to make it 2-0 at 87:04. After nearly 75 minutes of scoreless play, that goal would trigger an outpouring of scoring as the Lakers got on the board with eight seconds to play. Freshman midfielder Juuso Ollila (Helsinki, Finland) connected with junior defender Kwaku Dwamena (Richmond, Va.) to reach the final margin of 2-1.
 
Tergella and Dovland lead the Patriots with a goal apiece while Sandmann and Dechere each had an assist. In net, Raul Guillamon Bejar played all 90 minutes and made three saves against one goal allowed to improve to 4-2 on the year.
 
Clayton State managed 13 shots but just four on goal, two of those by their goal scorer in Dwamena. Ollila notched the team's only assist while redshirt-sophomore midfielder Connor Atkinson (Liverpool, England) and sophomore forward Dean Foster (Johannesburg, South Africa) each had a shot on goal.
 
Redshirt-senior goalkeeper Oliver Pannell (Nottingham, England) went the distance, allowing a pair of goals against two saves. He drops to 2-5 on the season.
 
The Lakers step out of conference when they return home to face Erskine on Wednesday, October 4. Game time is set for 5 p.m. at Laker Field.