Box score
MORROW, Ga. --- The No. 19 Clayton State
University men's soccer team scored a pair of first half goals, and
held off a furious second-half rally by sixth-seed Lees-McRae
College to advance to the second round of the NCAA Division II
Men's Soccer Championship on Wednesday afternoon.
Peach Belt Conference Player of the Year Ryan Pugh
(Fayetteville, Ga.) found the back of the net twice in the first
half, tallying his 14th and 15th goals of the season to pace the
Lakers (17-3). Freshman forward James Galvani (High Wycombe,
England) posted his 11th goal of the campaign for the Bobcats
(13-5-3), while LMC's Justin Jones (Jamestown, N.C.) and Clayton
State's Leighton Fredericks (Johannesburg, South Africa) and Kevin
Rodriquez (Duluth, Ga.) each recorded an assist in the match.
Pugh opened the scoring in the closing seconds of the seventh
minute, taking advantage of a breakaway opportunity following a
pass from Rodriguez and finding the back of the net to give Clayton
State an early 1-0 lead. The 5-10, 170-pound forward doubled the
advantage just before the interval, scoring his second goal of the
match off a cross from Fredericks in the 43rd minute to send the
Lakers into halftime with a 2-0 lead.
Galvani kick-started the comeback bid late in the 50th minute,
controlling a long throw in from Jones at the top of the CSU area
and delivering a brilliant strike into the back of the net to cut
the margin to 2-1. The Bobcats would go on the attack with renewed
fervor over the final 30 minutes, out-shooting the Lakers by a 5-3
margin over the remaining half hour, only to be denied by the
staunch Clayton State defense.
Lees-McRae ends its season with a 13-5-3 record, having advanced
to its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance after capturing
the program's fourth consecutive Conference Carolinas regular
season title. The Bobcats are expected to return 16 lettermen for
their Conference Carolinas Tournament Championship squad, including
all-Conference Carolinas First Team selections David Palmer
(Gateshead, England), Luke Duffy (Wakefield, England), and Luke
Perry (Cheshire, England).
- LMC -
