Freshman Juan Hermenegildo scored his second collegiate goal in the 47th minute as the Georgia Gwinnett College men's soccer team dropped a 3-1 contest against NCAA Division II Clayton State University (Georgia) on Saturday afternoon at the Grizzly Soccer Complex.

The Grizzlies (5-5-1) trailed 2-0 after the opening 45 minutes as the Lakers (3-2-1) found the back of the net in the 28th and 30th minutes of the match. Hermenegildo drilled a shot from the right side of the 18-yard box inside the left goal post to bring the hosts within a goal, at 2-1, early in the second half.

GGC registered the first three shots of the second half.

Clayton State's Alex Rodriguez successfully converted a penalty kick in the 75th minute for his second goal of the match. That again gave the visitors a two-goal lead, at 3-1, which became the final score.

The Lakers outshot the Grizzlies by a 7-5 margin, with four of GGC's shots coming in the second half. Freshman Alejandro Contrera led the team with two shot attempts.

Sophomore goalkeeper Gal Grodetzki recorded two saves in making his first start of the 2024 season.


 
Coach's Corner
"This match came down to a few moments. They scored two quick goals, but until then we had been doing a pretty good job of keeping things organized. It was a better performance than our last match (a 8-1 loss), but we need to be better. I expect us to get this fixed," said Head Coach Steve DeCou.
 
Turning Point
Clayton State was able to regain a two-goal margin by converting a penalty kick in the 75th minute. That came after the Grizzlies had scored in the early moments of the second half, closing the gap to 2-1, and registered the first three shots of the period.
 
Goals
28' – Othmane Chagour, CSU (Unassisted)
30' – Alex Rodriguez, CSU (Camilo Velez)
47' – Juan Hermenegildo, GGC (Unassisted)
75' – Alex Rodriguez, CSU (Penalty kick)
 
Inside The Numbers

• Clayton State outshot the Grizzlies by a 7-5 margin
• Nineteen different players appeared in the match for GGC
• Sophomore goalkeeper Gal Grodetzki made two saves across the 90 minutes of action

News & Notes

• GGC drops to 5-5-1 on the season; Clayton State improves to 3-2-2 in 2024
• The Grizzlies received votes in the latest NAIA Top 25 poll
• Saturday's match was the first meeting between the two colleges

Up Next
Georgia Gwinnett College is scheduled to host Wiley University (Texas) in beginning play during the CAC Classic on Thursday, October 3, at the Grizzly Soccer Complex, starting at 7 p.m.