Worcester, Mass. – In a contest that featured three of the league's top scorers, host Clark University outgunned Smith College with a thrilling 5-4 decision in New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) field hockey action on Saturday afternoon.

The Cougars ran their winning streak to four straight games and reached double-digit wins for the second time in the last three seasons. More importantly, the Cougars assured themselves of the No. 5 seed in the upcoming conference tournament slated to begin on Tuesday, October 30.

Smith, meanwhile, at 7-9 overall and 2-5 in league play, remains in the hunt for the sixth and final spot. The Pioneers would have to defeat MIT at home next Saturday and then have Mount Holyoke lose to Babson to sneak in as the sixth seed.

Today's matchup, however, was an affair that saw the Cougars build what looked to be a comfortable 4-1 lead before Smith stormed back.

Madeleine Lutts (Salem, Mass.) scored her first goal of the game off a Kiah Murphy (Westport, Mass.) pass at 10:05 to give Clark a 1-0 edge.

The Pioneers answered back as they did for most of the day when Allie Stein (Ann Arbor, Mich.) setup Kristen Estes (Falmouth, Mass.) for her seventh goal of the season at 22:12. Stein's assist was her NEWMAC leading 18th helper on the year and established a new program record for single season assists.

The second half saw the two teams combine for seven goals in a 19 minute span beginning with a Clark score from Talia Fish (Philadelphia, Pa.) with help from Kelly Hart (Oak Park, Ill.).

Lutts then had back-to-back goals in less than two minutes as she took passes from Fish and Erin O'Neil (Willington, Conn.) to collect her 15th and 16th goals of the year and complete her third career hat trick.

Not to be outdone, Stein followed up with her 21st of the year at 50:31 and then the Pioneers were the beneficiaries of an own goal a little more than a minute later to make the score 4-3.

The Cougars then went to a familiar combination for their fifth and decisive score when Lutts raced through the Pioneer defense and fed Mel Melkonian (Worcester, Mass.) out in front of the goal. She circled around a defender and banged home her nation-leading 27th goal of the year at 58:01.

Stein brought Smith closer with a brilliant tally off a pass from Jenny Estes (Falmouth, Mass.) in the 60th minute, but the visitors would get no closer.

Lutts, who finished with three goals and an assist, moved into ninth place on Clark's all-time scoring list with 99 points (36 goals, 26 assists).

Stein meanwhile, ended with two goals and an assist, while Fish had a goal and an assist for the Cougars.

Clark held a 16-9 edge in shots on goal and Pioneer netminder Nora Demick (Watertown, Mass.) turned back 11 shots, while Jordannah Saunders (Scarborough, Maine) stopped five shots of her own.

Now 10-5 and 3-4 in league play, the Cougars have two games before postseason play begins. They visit both Wheelock College on Thursday and Wheaton College on Saturday. In addition to their huge matchup with MIT next Saturday, they host Keene State on Thursday.