GREENWOOD, S.C. – A 55^th minute goal by sophomore midfielder Natalie Barbara (Ballarat, Australia) and outstanding defense delivered Clayton State (4-2-1, 1-1-1 PBC) a hard fought 1-1 tie at Lander (4-3-2, 2-0-2 PBC) in an NCAA Division II women's soccer game on Wednesday, October 9.
 
In a very defensive minded game, neither team would strike pay dirt through the first 25 minutes but that would change in the 26^th minute as LU broke through. Brianna Taylor would find Lauren Brosnoski at the 25:30 mark with the latter driving home the go-ahead goal for a 1-0 advantage.
 
That margin would stay there for nearly the next 30 minutes as the teams scattered seven shots between them in that time. The last of those would be an attempt by Taylor that junior goalkeeper Valentina Bonaiuto (Valencia, Venezuela) would corral with 51:49 gone by.
 
The Lakers would turn that defensive effort into an offensive rush as they went right back down field. That charge would culminate in the second career goal for Barbara, who drove it home at the 54:08 mark to deadlock at 1-1.
 
From there the teams would return to their defensive ways with the most opportune chances to pull ahead coming by Clayton State beginning in the 76^th minute. Over a little more than a two minute stretch they would fire off four corner kicks, one resulting in a shot by senior midfielder Manoly Baquerizo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) that required a save.
 
Baquerizo would notch another shot at 85:13 from inside the box, seeing it go just to the left of the net, while the Lakers defense turned away back-to-back corner kicks less than a minute later. The Lakers would have one last chance in regulation with a corner with 2:02 remaining before the team's headed to overtime deadlocked at 1-1.
 
That extra frame would see a great deal of midfield play and a push into the offensive end by the Lakers that saw sophomore forward Beatriz Zabalegui (San Sebastian de los Reyes, Spain) record a shot on goal at 98:06. It would be the only shot of the period and the teams would head to double overtime.
 
A misplay in their own end by Lander would be the biggest play in the final period as that turnover in the box resulted in a point blank attempt by sophomore midfielder Pia Haug (Ytre Enebakk, Norway). In close on the right side after beating a defender she would put the ball over the goal post at 108:24. That would be the last best opportunity for either team as both settled for a 1-1 tie to pick up a point each in the PBC standings.
 
Brosonski led the way for the Bearcats with the lone goal while Taylor collected an assist to account for the offense. Both would record two shots apiece of LU's five on the night with both player's attempts being on goal. Defensively, Sarah Owen would come up big in net, making five saves against just the one goal to move to 4-3-2 on the year.
 
Bonaiuto would match that effort with a career-high 110 minutes as she made three saves and surrendered the lone score to put her record at a solid 4-2-1. Making that defensive effort stand up was Barbara with the second score of her career as she and senior defender Janne Brouer (Aarhus, Denmark) each had a pair of shots to anchor the Lakers 13 shot night. Baquerizo led with five shots and a game-high three on net.
 
Clayton State is back in action on Saturday, October 12 when they return home to face rival Columbus State (5-6, 1-4 PBC) on Alumni Weekend. Game time is set for approximately 6 p.m. at Laker Field following the men's contest against No. 8 Lynn.
 
NOTES
It is only the fourth tie between the clubs in 25 all-time meetings … the last was also a 1-1 tie, that coming on October 2012 in Morrow, Georgia … the others were scoreless deadlocks on October 25, 2008 at Laker Field and October 18, 2005 in Greenwood.