YOUNG HARRIS, Ga. – In a game with critical Peach Belt Conference Tournament ramifications, Clayton State (6-5-3, 3-5-1 PBC) stepped up and pulled out a 2-1 victory at Young Harris (5-7-0, 3-5-0 PBC) in an NCAA Division II women's soccer game on Saturday, October 20.
 
The night began with both teams fighting to get into the 2018 PBC Tournament field and the Lakers holding down the No. 8 spot, directly behind YHC. They were separated by just two points, 9-7.
 
Clayton State would be the beneficiary of an early Mountain Lion misplay as they went up 1-0 at the 8:29 mark. Freshman midfielder Moa Loftman (Karlstad, Sweden) arched a ball into the box and watched as a Young Harris defender headed it into their own net for an own goal. In a half that saw a total of just seven shots between the two teams (five for the Lakers and two for YHC), that 1-0 lead would hold up to and through halftime.
 
It wouldn't take long to add to it, however, as Clayton State went to work in the opening minutes of the second half. In the 54^th minute, junior defender Manoly Baquerizo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) served a ball from the right wing towards the box. That would find the foot of sophomore midfielder Ann-Cathrin Zabel (Schwarme, Germany) who drilled it into the back left corner for a 2-0 lead at 53:51.
 
Young Harris would battle back in the 67^th minute as Lucero Robayo delivered a through ball to the right wing, finding Madison Patton. She would draw the keeper out and loft a ball to the back of the net from 25 yards out to cut the deficit in half at 2-1 with 66:13 gone by.
 
That would be their seventh shot of the half – and they'd only have two more the rest of the way. Both of those would come off the foot of Baylee Roche, one wide right in the 70^th minute and one requiring a save at the beginning of the 81^st minute. From there they would muster no further serious threats as Clayton State closed out the narrow 2-1 victory.
 
Patton would lead the way for the Mountain Lions with her lone goal while Robayo had the assist. Of the 11 shots, Roche would have a game-high six, including four on net. Alyssa Spridgeion started in net and played the first 45 minutes. She would make one save but fall victim to the own goal and suffer the loss to fall to 2-5-0.
 
Zabel had the only goal for the Lakers and Baquerizo added to her team-best point total with 18 on the season with her team-high fourth assist. The latter would also add a pair of shots on goal on the day. In net sophomore goalkeeper Hannah Richards (Huddersfield, England) continued to perform as she made five saves and allowed just the one goal in 90 minutes of action. She improves to 6-5-3 on the year.
 
With the win Clayton State has firmed up their chances of returning to the PBC Tournament but still has work to do to secure a spot. They currently sit in seventh with 10 points and one game to play.
 
While there is the possibility they could move up, that would require Georgia College to lose both games to Young Harris and USC Aiken, two teams trailing them in the standings. YHC still has tough games at GC and UNC Pembroke so still could move back into the No. 7 spot.
 
The only team with a chance to knock the Lakers from the field is Francis Marion, which sits in ninth with six points and games at Lander and Flagler. They would need to win both to have a chance to pass Clayton State, which holds the head-to-head tie-breaker by virtue of a 4-1 win on October 13.
 
The Lakers wrap up the regular season on Wednesday, October 24 when they head to USC Aiken. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in Aiken, South Carolina.