Men's Soccer | December 6, 2024

BOCA RATON, Fla. – The fourth-seeded Clayton State University men's soccer team travels down to the Sunshine State to play the two-seeded Fighting Knights of Lynn University in the Elite Eight of the 2024 NCAA DII Men's Soccer Tournament on Saturday afternoon.  The Lakers are seeking their first Final Four bid in program history.  The winner of this game advances to play the winner of Charleston vs. Felician on Thursday, December 12^th at 3 p.m. in Mathews, N.C.
 
TOURNAMENT RECAP/SERIES HISTORY
The Lakers opened the 2024 NCAA DII Men's Soccer Championships taking down Converse in PKs and defeated the top-seeded Limestone University Saints, 2-1, in the Sweet 16.  Lynn has picked up a pair of 1-0 wins over West Florida and Coker.  The Lakers and Fighting Knights are playing in their fifth meeting all-time.  Lynn has the advantage over the Lakers, 3-0-1.  The two teams were scheduled to play each other on September 18^th, but that match was canceled due to Hurricane Helene.  The Lakers were outscored 9-4 in those matches. 
 
BOOK ON LYNN
Lynn has had a very successful season as they come into this match with an overall record of 17-0-2 including going 12-0-1 at home.  The Fighting Knights have not lost a game since November 18^th, 2023, and have not lost a home game since October 18^th, 2023.  Leading the Fighting Knights into play is Luca Clavero, Henry Haferkorn, and Luis Kiefer.  Clavero, who was selected as a D2CCA South Region first-team honoree, has been the stalwart of the defensive unit that only conceded nine goals in the entire season.  Luca has pitched 12 shutouts in net to go along with making 36 saves.  Haferkorn has led the Lynn defensive unit all season and has scored a pair of goals. 
 
On the offensive side of the ball, Kiefer has led the Fighting Knights with six goals and a team third-best four assists.  This offensive attack for Lynn is super balanced and has five players with five or more goals.  The Laker defense will be tested as they have scored 2.42 goals a game. 
 
LAKER LEADERS
The Lakers are led by their first-team D2CCA All-SE Region selections Alex Rodriguez and Alexis Iturria, defender Othmane Chagour, and keeper Mauricio Uribe.  Rodriguez scored a pair of goals in the 2-1 overtime victory over Limestone in the Sweet 16.  Overall, Alex leads the Lakers with 11 goals and as second on the team with seven assists.  Iturria also leads Clayton State into this Elite Eight matchup.  Alexis scored the match-tying goal in the closing seconds against Converse and assisted on Rodriguez's goal in the Sweet 16.  Overall, Alexis scored six goals and leads the team and is tied for second in the NCAA with 14 assists.  In order for the Lakers to pick up a win, they have to go through a Lynn defensive unit that has conceded only nine goals this season. 
 
On the defensive side of the ball, Chagour and Uribe leads the Lakers into action on Saturday.  Chagour and the Laker defensive unit has only conceded 19 goals this season, which is tied for the fewest goals allowed since 2010.  The Lakers have only conceded one or fewer goals in 15 of 20 matches this season.  In this postseason, the Lakers have only conceded a pair of goals in two games.  Uribe has been magnificent in net for the Lakers.  Uribe, who earned Second-Team D2CCA SE Region honors, made a career-high nine saves against Limestone and seven against Converse.  He has only conceded 14 goals the entire year which led to a 11-2-3 record overall. The Laker captain must be on top of his game if the Lakers have a chance to advance to the Final Four. 
 
FAN CENTRAL

• Live Stats
• Watch Live (Free)
• Tickets will be available for purchase at the gate.  Lynn does not accept cash as form of payment.  Adults are $8 where children are $5.
• Venue: Bob Campbell Stadium

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