AMERICUS, Ga. – Two and a half weeks away from game action and there were no signs of rust as Clayton State (4-1-0, 1-0-0 PBC) jumped on Georgia Southwestern (3-4-1, 0-2-0 PBC) early and rode their defense to a 3-1 victory in an NCAA Division II women's soccer game on Wednesday, October 2.
 
Leading the all-time series by a dominant 13-0 mark, the Lakers wasted very little time in establishing themselves in the 14^th meeting. With just 1:45 gone by, sophomore midfielder Moa Loftman (Karlstad, Sweden) found fellow sophomore midfielder Pia Haug (Ytre Enebakk, Norway) in front of the net. Seconds later she would bury it to back of the goal for a very early 1-0 lead.
 
Clayton State would maintain their offensive pressure and it would pay off less than 16 minutes later when senior midfielder Manoly Baquerizo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) took a hard shot in the box – from a Hurricanes defender. That misstep would prove costly as the Laker scoring threat was awarded a penalty kick.
 
Going to the left GSW keeper Hannah Morrone made the save on that high percentage attempt but allowed a rebound and got no help from her defense as Baquerizo collected it and pounded it home for a 2-0 advantage at the 17:08 mark.
 
The Hurricanes would recover and staunch the bleeding there and would benefit from it in the 33^rd minute. Alison Rugel, fresh into the game, advanced the ball up the middle of the field where Brenna Mendoca corralled it just past midfield. From there she lofted a deep shot that found the back of the net to cut the deficit to 2-1 with 32:21 off the clock.
 
It would be another 12 minutes and would take some hustle but Clayton State would capitalize just before the half – just barely. Following a clear by a GSW defender deep in their own end that resulted in a corner kick with 18 seconds left, Loftman had to race up an embankment to retrieve the ball, set it and play it in. It was then sent towards the goal before landing at Loftman's feet again.
 
With time ebbing way she found sophomore forward Isabel Massa (Caracas, Venezuela) on the right side of the net, setting her up perfectly to drill it to the back of the cage with two seconds left in the half. That would be the final of 19 first half shots, put the Lakers up 3-1 and send the teams to the half at that margin.
 
As it would turn out, that would be all the offense that the Lakers would need. The teams would combine for 15 shots (Clayton State 9, Georgia Southwestern 6) in the second half but none would get home as the clubs closed out the 3-1 decision.
 
Mendonca and Rugel provided the only offense for the Hurricanes with a goal and assist, respectively, while the leatter led the team with four shots, two of which were on goal. Overall, GSW had just nine attempts with four on target. Morrone played all 90 minutes in net and made nine saves while allowing all three goals to fall to 3-4-1.
 
Loftman led the way for the Lakers with her career-high two assists while Haug, Baquerizo and Massa each delivered a goal. Baquerizo and Haug finished the night with a game-high tying seven shots with the former putting an impressive six on net. Junior goalkeeper Valentina Bonaiuto (Valencia, Venezuela) produced another impressive performance as she made three saves while allowing just the one score to improve to 4-1 on the year.
 
The Lakers return to action on Saturday, October 5 as they face one of their toughest opponents as they head to Florida to take on No. 6 Flagler (7-0, 2-0 PBC) in a key Peach Belt Conference meeting. Game time is set for 12 p.m. in St. Augustine.
 
NOTES
Clayton State is a perfect 14-0 against Georgia Southwestern dating back to the first meeting on October 11, 2006 … in that time, only three games have had a one goal margin.