ALBANY, Ga. – Five first half goals set the tone and allowed Clayton State (8-5-1, 5-5-1 PBC) to coast into the No. 6 seed of the Peach Belt Conference Tournament as they throttled Albany State (4-11-0, 2-9-0 PBC) by a 5-0 score in an NCAA Division II women's soccer game on Saturday, November 9.
 
Fresh off a major academic award, sophomore forward Isabel Massa (Caracas, Venezuela) added to her on-field accomplishments as she was Johnny-on-the-Spot, recovering a loose ball of the defender in the 16^th minute. She would collect it and then deposit into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead at 15:19.
 
Already the team leader in assists coming into the game, sophomore midfielder Moa Loftman (Karlstad, Sweden) would add to that total nearly 10 minutes later. Serving up a corner, she put it right in front of the goal mouth and senior midfielder Manoly Baquerizo (Guayaquil, Ecuador) headed it home for a two goal margin with 24:57 off the clock.
 
Just like the Billboard Top 40, the hits just kept on coming as senior defender Janne Brouer (Aarhus, Denmark) charged in on a misplayed ball by the keeper in the 27^th minute. She got to it and beat the keeper, drilling it to the back of the net for a 3-0 advantage at the 26:25 mark.
 
Clearly rattled, another misplay in front of the net would spell disaster for the Golden Rams as junior midfielder Ann-Cathrin Zabel (Schwarme, Germany) deflected an attempted clear attempt. Instead of going down field it would be yet another ball that went into the netting, this time at 28:34 for a commanding four goal spread.
 
ASU would settle back in for nearly 12 minutes but would fall victim again before the end of the half. Freshman midfielder Manuela Giraldo (Bogota, Columbia) would ignite this offensive attack with a through ball to Brouer. The latter would deliver once again as she drove home her career-high second goal to make it 5-0 and take over the team lead with eight on the year.
 
After the teams took that margin to the half it would be the end of the fireworks as the Lakers defense continued to lock down. They would scatter five shots throughout the second half and face no serious threats on their way to their third shutout of the year, this one 5-0.
 
Thuto Ramafifi led the Golden Rams with four shots and had both attempts that landed on frame while Aliyah Armijo fired off three that went off target. Alexa Castro started and made three saves against zero goals allowed before being pulled less than 15 minutes in. She was relieved by Maria Bacilio who surrendered all five goals and made seven saves to fall to 2-2 on the year.
 
Brouer led the offensive attack with her two scores while Massa, Zabel and Baquerizo each added solo scores. Loftman and Giraldo tacked on an assist each to round out the offense. Junior goalkeeper Valentina Bonaiuto (Valencia, Venezuela) started and went a scoreless 55:19, making one save to improve to 7-5-1 before seeing junior goalkeeper Hannah Richards (Huddersfield, England) take over for the last 34:41. She made one save.
 
The Lakers have earned the No. 6 seed in the 2019 Peach Belt Conference Tournament and will travel to No. 3 seed UNC Pembroke (14-4, 8-3 PBC) on Tuesday, November 12. Game time is yet to be determined.
 
NOTES
Massa was just named a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection … she is one of just 22 all-time in the history of Clayton State Athletics.