Box Score Worcester, Mass. - Baran
Doenmez (Dublin, N.H.) and Alexander
Herlich (Andover, Mass.) tallied goals 1:14 apart late in
the game to help Clark stun host WPI 3-2 on Saturday afternoon in
the NEWMAC men's soccer opener for both squads.
The Cougars push their overall record to 4-3 this fall and 1-0
in conference action while WPI tumbles to 3-4 on the season and 0-1
in the NEWMAC.
Trailing 2-0 after a pair of Engineer goals in the opening 22:11
of the contest, Clark clawed back into the game when Doenmez
successfully converted a penalty kick in the 69th minute after a
WPI foul in the box.
The Cougars continued to put the pressure on and were rewarded
at 84:05 when Doenmez tapped in a cross from William Van
Noppen (Providence, RI) to even the score at 2-2.
The marker was the senior's team-best fifth goal of the
year.
The visitors surged ahead at 85:29 when Herlich took a long pass
from junior classmate Adrian Blackadar (Warwick,
R.I.), snuck past the defense and buried it in the back of the net
for his first goal of the season.
WPI had a chance to tie in the waning seconds but a long free
kick into the box was repelled at the final horn.
Mike Ford got WPI on the scoreboard 12:57 into the game with a
long blast after a pass by Kevin Ducharme. Less than 10 minutes
later the Crimson and Gray pushed the advantage to 2-0 on
consecutive headers by Steve Partridge and Keeon Tabrizi.
Ryan King (Brimfield, Mass.) made three saves to earn the win in
net for the Cougars. WPI netminder Paul Moan made three stops
for the hosts.
The matchup was tightly contested as WPI held a slight 9-8 edge
in shots and Clark a tight 7-6 advantage in corner
kicks.
Both teams are off until road NEWMAC contests next Saturday WPI
heads to Cambridge for a 4pm meeting with MIT while Clark ventures
to New London to face Coast Guard at noon.