MORROW, GA -- The Clayton State Lakers scored twice in the first overtime period and then held off a furious Lander comeback attempt to capture the 2023 Peach Belt Conference men's soccer tournament title 4-2 on Sunday in Morrow. The Lakers win their first conference tournament since 2007, their fourth overall, and claim the PBC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
After a scoreless first half, Lander jumped on the scoreboard first as Christian Hatley, the leading goal scorer in the PBC, put the Bearcats (9-5-4) up 1-0 after a marvelous individual effort that saw him weave through the Laker defense before finishing in the side netting.
Clayton State (15-3) answered with pressure that led to a foul in the box and a penalty kick six minutes later. Wilfried Kamden converted to tie the score at one.
Lander then went up 2-1 on a PK of their own at 56:49 as Hatley was taken down in the box. He converted for his second of the game, his 14th of the season.
Clayton State answered again less than five minutes later as tournament MVP John Michael Torres took a pass from Adrian Gallegos and drilled a shot out of the air into the upper 90 to tie the score.
The two teams each had opportunities over the ensuing 30 minutes, but neither could find the net and regulation ended with a 2-2 tie, sending the game into two 10-minute overtime periods.
Clayton State wasted little time in the first extra frame, scoring less than a minute in as Alexis Iturria took a cross from Geo Rios and headed it home as he fell to the ground. The Lakers added another goal four minutes later with Vic Delgado Miller scoring on an Iturria cross.
Clayton State held the edge in shots 17-11 and 6-5 on goal while Lander had seven corner kicks to Clayton State's five. Lander goalkeeper Juan Rodriguez made two saves while the Lakers' Mauricio Uribe had three.
The NCAA selection show will be streamed live at 7pm on Monday at ncaa.com
All-Tournament Team
Dante Johnson, Georgia Southwestern
Jose Rabadan, USC Aiken
Toby McCallum, Flagler
Marcus Hedemann, Flagler
Michael Walsh, North Georgia
Aram Lara, North Georgia
Christian Hatley, Lander
Zach Meyer, Lander
Rashawn Kellman, Lander
Wilfried Kamden, Clayton State
Alexis Iturria, Clayton State
Andree Jimenez, Clayton State
Tournament MVP
John Michael Torres, Clayton State