Box Score AIKEN, SC--USC Aiken's women's soccer team lost to Clayton College & State University, 2-1, tonight in Peach Belt Conference soccer action, in Aiken, S.C. The Lady Pacers couldn't overcome two first period goals by the Lakers. USC Aiken closed out their 2002 regular season with an 8-7-3 overall record and a 1-4-2 PBC record. The Lakers improved to 9-3-4 in 2002 and 4-2-1 in the PBC.

Florence Okpala put the Lakers up early with two first period goals. The Lady Pacers had eight first half shots compared to just two for Clayton College, but couldn't get one past the Laker goalkeeper.

Julie Padgett pulled USC Aiken to within one with a rebound goal, off her own penalty shot, at the 62:55 mark in the second period. Playing on Senior Night, the senior, from Madisonville, Ky., scored the sixth goal of her career.

The Lady Pacers had some good looks in the closing minutes but couldn't get a shot off against the Laker defense.

Shannon Hobbs played the entire game in goal for USC Aiken. She allowed two goals and had four saves. Two saves came off point blank Laker shots early in the second period that allowed the Lady Pacers to stay within striking distance.

For the game, USC Aiken out shot Clayton College, 11-8, and held a 7-3 advantage in corner kicks. Okpala had seven of the eight Clayton shots. Padgett and Jen Mascarin led USCA with four shots each.

A victory by the Lady Pacers tonight could have given them the PBC's fifth seed in next week's conference tournament. Instead USCA will play as the seventh seed and will face the conference's number two seed in the first round.

Along with Padgett, four other USC Aiken seniors were honored in a halftime ceremony. They were; Nickey DuPont from Rochester, Ill., Mandy Nicoli, from Wheaton, Md., Kelley Shemansky, from Glassboro, N.J. and Stacey Courtwright, from Springfield, Ill.

The Lady Pacers, who turned in USC Aiken's third winning season in the six-year history of the program, will begin the Peach Belt Conference tournament on Wednesday when they play the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla. The Lady Ospreys (13-2-1, 6-1-0 PBC) are the 25th ranked team in the nation and beat the Lady Pacers, 2-1, on Oct. 1, 2002. 

Women's Soccer 1 2 Final
USC Aiken 0 1 1
Clayton Col. & St. 2 0 2

Scoring 
CCSU: Florence Okpala (Nkiru Okosieme, 36:30)
CCSU: Florence Okpala (Unassisted, 43:03)
USCA: Julie Padgett (Unassisted, 62:55)

Shots USCA 11, CCSU 8
Cornerkicks USCA 7, CCSU 3
Fouls USCA 4, CCSU 7
Offsides USCA 0, CCSU 2
Saves USCA 4 (Shannon Hobbs 4), CCSU 7 (Judith Chime 7) 
Cards None