WORCESTER, Mass. – The Clark University men's soccer team dropped a 2-1 decision in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) as the Engineers scored in the fifth minute and never looked back in the 2019 regular season finale at Granger Field. With the result, the Cougars secured the No. 4 seed in the upcoming NEWMAC playoffs. 

The Basics

Score: Engineers 2, Cougars 1

Records: Clark University (11-6-0, 4-3-0 NEWMAC) | WPI (11-2-4, 5-0-2 NEWMAC)

How it Happened

The Engineers jumped ahead in the fifth minute of action as Mark Calnan fired a chance from just outside the box, keeping his shot low to the turf and tucking it into the bottom left corner to provide the visitor the advantage. WPI clamped down on the defensive end throughout the opening half as the Cougars were limited to taking just a pair of shots, both of which were corralled by Engineers' goalkeeper Rufus Adams.

The visitors doubled up the advantage in the second half as Liam Setterlund connected with Luke Reiniger on a through ball into open space, with Reiniger guiding a laser just under the crossbar to pick up the 2-0 margin.

With just nine minutes left in the action, the Cougars struck back, halving the deficit following a scrum in front of the net as Ezekiel Palmer (Vergennes, Vt.) mindfully centered a pass to first-year Griffin Smith (Austin, Texas) with Smith finding twine for his first collegiate goal.

Clark University managed just one more shot on goal through the remainder of the contest as the WPI's defense locked up down the stretch. Sophomore Alex Maiorano (Shrewsbury, Mass.) tested Adams one more time through the remainder of regulation, with the WPI keeper halting the chance to secure the 2-1 NEWMAC victory.

Junior goalkeeper Melvin Vincent (Rochester, Mass.) turned away five of the seven shots faced in net for the Cougars while Adams finished with four saves for the Engineers. The Cougars were outshot by a 12-8 clip with six of those chances by the host coming in the final half of action. WPI held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Up Next

Clark University will host opening round action of the NEWMAC playoffs on Tuesday, November 5 as No. 5 MIT comes to Granger Field for a 7:00 pm showdown. Ticket prices for admission are $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and $1 for students with children under the age of 12 receiving free admittance.