CSU DEFENDER DOWLING SCORES THREE GOALS TO LEAD LAKERS TO 5-2 WIN OVER NORTH GEORGIA

Morrow, GA - Clayton State University's Alex Dowling is a defensive All-American for the Lakers, but on Saturday, he proved that he could also be an offensive threat.

Dowling scored a trio of goals in Clayton State's 5-2 victory over North Georgia College & State University in the Lakers Peach Belt Conference opener against the Saints at Laker Field.

With the win, the ninth-ranked Lakers improve to 5-1-2 and 1-0 in the Peach Belt Conference. The Lakers will return to action on Wednesday, starting a six-game road trip. The Lakers will open the trip with a match against #2 Tusculum College at 4 p.m. North Georgia drops to 2-3-1 on the season and 0-2 in the Peach Belt.

North Georgia jumped out to an early 1-0 lead 29 minutes into the match, as Sheldon Best slid a shot in the upper left of the net from eight yards out past CSU's diving keeper Heath Padgett. The play was set-up off a pass from Drew Prentice.

Clayton State answered, however, capitalizing on two straight fouls in the North Georgia box area, setting up two penalty kicks. Dowling did the honors on both, the first one at the 36th minute, followed by another one three minutes at the 39th minute. The Lakers led 2-1 at intermission.

CSU extended its lead to 3-1 in the first minute of the second half, after Juan Trujillo broke through the defense, passed off to Kevin Crooks and then took a return pass from Crooks, drilling a shot in the lower left of the net from 18 yards out.

The Lakers added another goal at the 54th minute when Johnny Lara slid a shot past North Georgia keeper Vince Neal from seven yards out. The play was set up after two quick passes from Pa'Alasan Jahumpa and Tonny Madegwa.

North Georgia cut the deficit 4-2 in the 57th minute on a penalty kick by Rene Alvarez after a handball in the Clayton State box. Dowling gave the Lakers a little insurance in the 70th minute, scoring his third goal of the match on header after a cross from Jarrid Nicholson.

Clayton State controlled much of the match, outshooting the Saints 24-6. Padgett finished with saves, while Neal stopped 10 Laker shots.

Box Score

Back to Men's Soccer