Worcester, Mass. – Oscar Zapata (Lima, Peru) registered his second career hat trick and host Clark University won its first New England Women's And Men's Women's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) contest since 2010 with a resounding 4-0 win over league newcomer Emerson College in men's soccer action on Saturday afternoon.

The win for the Cougars snaps a five match winless streak and pushes their overall record to 4-10-2, while the Lions have now dropped four of their last five games to slip to 7-9, including an 0-6 ledger in conference contests.

Zapata got the scoring going almost immediately as he dribbled up the left side, cut across the top of the box and unleashed a rocket that found the back of the net just 2:12 into the game.

Clark looked as if they were going to tack on another score in the tenth minute when Zapata was on the attack again but his blast from outside the box banged off the crossbar. The rebound caromed right to Josh Demers (Warwick, R.I.) who saw his attempt blocked right back to him and his subsequent attempt was stopped by Lion netminder Carter Bowers (Gorham, Maine).

Emerson's best scoring chance of the half came when Adam Halliday (Malvern, Pa.) took a ball up the left side and let loose a shot that Alphonso Alvarez (San Salvador, El Salvador) was able to deflect away.

Clark wasted little time getting on the board in the second half when Kenneth Vera (Franklin Square, N.Y.) chipped a ball to Zapata, who raced around a defender and tapped a ball that rolled right between Bowers legs for a 2-0 Cougar advantage at 51:35.

The Lions put some pressure on moments later when Alex Pappas (Boxford, Mass.) had his shot turned back by a sliding Alvarez and Austin Alphonse (Durham, N.H.) saw his flying header attempt punched away.

Mitch Lapierre (Manchester, N.H.) had a chance at 57:45 to put Emerson on the board but his shot hit the post and was swallowed up by Alvarez.

Zapata completed the natural hat trick when he took a feed from Demers and danced around a defender and touched the ball into the open net for a 3-0 edge.

Freshmen Andrew Ayers (Methuen, Mass.) and Vinny Morra (Setauket, N.Y.) connected for the fourth and final goal when Ayers found Morra who sprinted past a defender and sent a shot into the lower left corner for his fourth tally of the season at 84:49.

Clark held an 18-14 edge in shots, but the Lions had a 9-5 advantage in corner kicks.

Alvarez was spectacular in goal for the Cougars, making seven stop to record his first shutout of the season. Bowers, meanwhile, made four saves for the Lions in defeat.

The Cougars will return to action on Wednesday with a road contest at Framingham State, while the Lions wrap up their first season in the NEWMAC with a visit to Babson on Saturday.