Men's Soccer | November 22, 2024

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Clayton State University men's soccer team travels to Weisinger Stadium to play Converse University in its opening match of the 2024 NCAA DII Men's Soccer Tournament. Kickoff on Sunday, November 24^th is set for 3 p.m.  The Lakers look to advance past the round of 32 for the first time since 2010. 
 
MATCHUP/POSTSEASON HISTORY
The Lakers and Valkyries played already this season and Clayton State got the upper head winning 4-2 on September 5^th.  Gonzalo LaChica, Andree Jimenez, Camilo Velez, and Aaron Diaz scored for the Lakers. 
 
This is the first time these two teams matched up in the postseason and the Lakers are 5-6 in their NCAA Tournament history.  The Lakers are back to the Tournament after advancing to the Round of 32 last season.   This is only the second time in program history that the Lakers went to back-to-back NCAA Tournament with the first being in the 2004 and 2005 seasons. 
 
THE BOOK ON CONVERSE
The Valkyries finished with a record of 9-1-8 and went 6-0-6 in the Conference Carolinas.  Their only loss of the season came against these same Lakers. They finished second in the Conference Carolinas and fell to Francis Marion in the Quarterfinals of the CC Tournament in penalty kicks. 
 
The Valkyries are led by Gabriel Verona who earned the Conference Carolinas' Defensive Player of the Year.  Converse is also led by Guillherme Fontes who scored a pair of goals against the Lakers in their matchup earlier this season.  He finished with nine goals and seven assists.  Hayden Gensler followed him with six goals and a pair of assists.  Mateo Sanchez leads the Valkyries in goal as he conceded only 13 goals and made 44 saves. 
 
LAKER IMPACT PLAYERS
The Lakers are led by their PBC Offensive Player of the Year Alex Rodriguez.  Rodriguez led the team and the conference with nine goals and notched six assists.  He also led the conference and the team with 22 points.  Following Rodriguez is Fallah Johnson and Alexis Iturria.  Johnson, who earned a first-team All-PBC mention, is second on the team with seven goals and added an assist.  Iturria, who also earned a first-team All-PBC mention, scored the lone goal in the 2-1 loss in the PBC Championship game to Flagler and notched a team and conference-high 13 assists this season. 
 
The Lakers are also led on the defensive side of the ball by Othmane Chagour and Mauricio Uribe.  Chagour was a first-team All-PBC selection and scored a pair of goals and added a pair of assists.  Chagour and the Laker defensive unit only conceded 17 goals which is the least allowed goals since 2009.  In net, Uribe played in 15 matches and only conceded 12 goals.  He made 44 saves and recorded a goal against average of .80, which is the best in the conference.  Uribe also earned first-team All-PBC mention. 
 
FAN INFORMATION
Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets to the game ahead of time at this link.  Fans are also encouraged to bring lawn chairs or blankets as there is limited bleacher space at Weisinger Stadium.  Fans are also encouraged to purchase official NCAA DII Soccer Tournament merchandise ahead of time as well and you can find that information at this link here. 
 
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