2008 FALL SEASON RECAPS
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2008 Men's Cross Country Recap
The Clark University men’s cross country team ran in the right direction under the guidance of first-year head coach Mark Perrone. The Cougars once again capped the year by sending seven runners, including Caleb Evanter, Cory Leonard, Bob Naughton, Patrick O’Neil, Joe McClintock, Lee Stone and Nathaniel Noton-Freeman, to the NCAA Division III Regional Cross Country Championships held at Williams College. In the 8,000 meter run, Evanter had a solid showing with a 128th place finish (28:52.6) out of 331 runners. The senior runner also led Clark in all eight races this fall, garnering Cougar of the Week honors on October 13, and finished his career with a personal best time of 26:43 in the UMass-Dartmouth Invitational’s 8K.
Clark’s highest team finish came in the first meet of the year – the Smith Invitational – where they placed sixth in the 13-team field. They maintained the fourth spot (104 points) in the Worcester City Championship meet for the third straight year, and took seventh at the NEWMAC Championships with 195 points. Evanter paced Clark again with his 33rd place finish (27:12.14).
Evanter and Lee Stone finished off their careers with their fourth NEWMAC All-Academic team award.
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2008 Women's Cross Country Recap
Led by seniors Amanda Haimes, Kaitlyn Sephton and Andrea DeRocco, the Clark University women’s cross country team made its presence felt on the trails this fall. The Cougars best performance of the season came at the Western New England College Invitational, where they placed fifth in the 20-team field. That’s also where Sephton earned the fastest time of her career with a 13th place, 20:54 finish, claiming Clark’s Cougar of the Week honor for her performance in the 5K.
Sephton also joined teammates DeRocco, Haimes, Emma Siemasko, Lily Chaleff and Katelin Wolfinger at the 2008 ECAC Championships held in Bristol, R.I. Sephton placed 109th out of 298 runners to help Clark finish 33rd. In other meet highlights, Clark placed fourth (99 points) at the Worcester City Championships and 10th (280 points) at the NEWMAC Championships. Sephton and Siemasko finished one-two for Clark in both races, placing 12th (22:42) and 13th (22:46), respectively, in the Worcester City Meet, and 55th (21:28) and 59th (21:39.11) at NEWMAC’s, respectively.
The women’s cross country team took the lead in the classroom for Clark this fall. They placed five runners on the NEWMAC All-Academic team: Senior Kaitlyn Sephton, junior Emma Siemasko and sophomores Brooke Badon and Heather Goodale.
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2008 Field Hockey Recap
The Clark field hockey team fell short of its goals this year, failing to reach the conference tournament for the second time in three years and concluding its 2008 campaign with a 5-11 (1-7 NEWMAC) mark.
The Cougars won four of their first seven games, including three shutouts and three Worcester County wins, to start the year. They blanked Worcester State (1-0), Becker College (3-0) and Regis College (3-0) and posted a 5-2 win over Anna Maria College. Clark also defeated Smith College (2-1) for its lone conference victory of the season.
Clark pulled together a string of strong efforts, but unfortunately came out on the losing end. They battled WPI through a scoreless regulation and two overtime periods before falling in penalty strokes. The team then played Wheaton College to two scoreless overtimes, but allowed a goal with just 69 seconds left in the second OT, and later missed a chance for a NEWMAC Tournament berth with a hard-fought 1-0 loss at MIT.
The Cougars picked up a major conference award this season, earning its second NEWMAC Sportsmanship Award. Kathryn Dawsey ‘12 represented Clark on the All-Conference All-Star second team, while Lauren DeMetro ’10 received NEWMAC All-Academic honors
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2008 Men's Soccer Recap
The 2008 Clark University men’s soccer team certainly had a year to remember. The Cougars, who finished the year with an 11-5-2 (3-2-1 NEWMAC/3rd) record, not only posted their sixth consecutive winning season, but also earned their first NCAA Division III Tournament berth in 21 years.
Clark’s road to the NCAA’s was not easy. Facing a stack of regionally touted squads, the Cougars went unbeaten against five of the seven teams ranked in New England throughout the season. Highlights during that run included, a 1-1 tie against Worcester State College, a 2007 ECAC Tournament semifinalist, in front of a crowd of 500 fans at the Worcester City Soccer Classic at Granger Field and a scoreless draw against eventual NEWMAC Champion Babson College, not to mention 1-0 victories against Rhode Island College (OT) and Framingham State College, both winners of their respective conference championships, and regional power Wheaton College in Norton, Mass. It marked the first time in eight tries Clark beat Wheaton on their home field and just the second victory in 15 attempts overall.
Winners of five of its final regular season games, Clark earned the right to host the first-round of the NEWMAC Tournament for the fourth straight year. Despite a disappointing showing against Wheaton College (L 0-1) in the quarterfinals, the Cougars’ strength of schedule and three consecutive weeks in the final regionally rankings led them to their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1987.
Traveling to last year’s NCAA Tournament Champion Middlebury College, Clark’s season would come to an end in a tough 1-0 loss to Norwich University in the first-round.
Following the season, head coach David Kulik earned the NEWMAC Coach of the Year award for the second time during his tenure. The ninth-year coach also nabbed the honor in 2005. Senior goalkeeper Peter Wise was named to the NEWMAC All-Conference first-team, while junior defender Preben Gietz and sophomore forward Baran Doenmez (8-4-20) were second-team selections.
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2008 Women's Soccer Recap
The 2008 Clark women’s soccer team had a remarkable run this fall. Not only did the Cougars knock off a trio of regionally ranked opponents, including Worcester State
College (2-0), the 2007 & eventual 2008 ECAC Champions Brandeis University (1-0 OT), and Wellesley College (2-0) – which also topped the league at the time – but they also earned all their wins by shutout en route to a 7-10-1 (4-5 NEWMAC/6th) record.
Clark’s defense was its calling card once again this year, as the team held some of New England’s best to just one goal in 1-0 losses to Keene State College, a 2007 ECAC Tournament finalist, Babson College and perennial NCAA contender Wheaton College.
After advancing to the NEWMAC Tournament for the fifth straight year, the Cougars, the sixth-seed, finally got past nemesis Babson College in an exciting penalty kick match in the first-round. Clark, which lost to the Beavers in PK’s in last year’s conference tournament quarterfinals, played the third-seed to a scoreless double overtime tie before earning the 4-3 penalty kick advantage. Goalkeeper Joanna Clark ‘10 made a career-high 12 saves, netted the decisive penalty kick and then stopped Babson's final PK attempt to lift Clark to the NEWMAC semifinals for the first time since 2005.
Making their sixth appearance in the NEWMAC semifinal round since joining the conference in 1998, the Cougars dropped a heartbreaker to Wheaton College (1-0) in the final minute of the game to conclude their season.
Joanna Clark ‘10 and Julia Rizzo ‘09 represented Clark on the NEWMAC All-Conference second-team. It was the second straight year the duo received All-Conference honors.
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2008 Women's Tennis Recap
Though the Clark University women’s tennis entered the 2008 campaign with five less players than the previous season, the team picked up an additional victory and a pair of quality first-year performers. Freshman Julia Bergeron led the Cougars with seven individual victories, including four at No. 2 singles. She was the only player to garner victories over New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) opponents. Bergeron won at No. 2 singles against Springfield College (4-6, 6-4, 10-4) and versus Smith College (6-3, 6-1). Sophomore Emily Schweitzer was runner-up for Clark in singles wins with five and held the longest team winning streak with three. She won both matches in her pool at the New England Women’s Intercollegiate Tennis Tournament (NEWITT), outlasting her Simmons opponent 6-1, 2-6, 10-6 and prevailing over her Springfield foe 6-2, 6-3.
Clark struggled early in the season, dropping its first three matches of the year. But, the Cougars responded by winning the next two of three contests, including a 9-0 sweep of Mitchell College and 6-3 win over Emmanuel College. Other team highlights included a 4-2 win over Rhode Island College and back-to-back sweeps over Worcester State College (9-0) and Anna Maria College (9-0) to finish with a 5-9 (0-7 NEWMAC) mark.
Senior Rebecca Good and junior Emily Schweitzer represented the women's tennis team on the All-Academic squad.
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2008 Volleyball Season Recap
The 2008 Clark University women’s volleyball campaign showed flashes of promises for the years to come. Welcoming seven new players to the mix – six of whom saw significant time on the court this fall – the young squad served up its first Worcester City Tournament title in seven years to start the season. Down 2-0, the Cougars rallied to win three straight sets to defeat Worcester State College, 3-2, in the opener and later swept Division II Assumption College, snapping the Greyhounds’ five-year tournament title run. It marked Clark’s seventh overall championship since the tournament began in 1984.
Rattling off a season-high four match win streak during the fall, including a key 3-2 victory over cross-town rival WPI, Clark earned a trip back to the NEWMAC Tournament after falling short the previous season. Seeded eighth, the Cougars fell to top-seed and eventual conference champion Springfield College (3-0) in the first round.
While Clark concluded the season with an 11-14 (2-7 NEWMAC) record, the team saw marked improvement in the win column. The Cougars produced five more overall victories and claimed an additional conference win than in 2007.
Individual highlights during the season included a Worcester City Tournament Most Valuable Player nod and NEWMAC Player of the Week honor for outside hitter Maritza Fair ’10. It was the first time a Clark volleyball player received the honor since Kate Weiss ’03 in 2000. Libero Emily Visone ‘10 was also selected to the All-Tournament team at the sixth annual Garnet Classic hosted by Swarthmore College.
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CLARK MEN’S SOCCER RETURNS TO THE NCAA TOURNAMENT
The wait is finally over. After 21 years on the sidelines, the Clark University men’s soccer team is back in the NCAA Division III Tournament.
“I’m thrilled for the program,” said ninth-year coach David Kulik. “Obviously the hope is that we are not content with just making the tournament, but making a mark in the tournament.”
Making their first appearance in the “big dance” since 1987, the Cougars earned an at-large bid after falling in the quarterfinals of the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Tournament.
Clark (11-4-2) faced Norwich University (17-2-1) in a first-round game played on Saturday afternoon (1:30 p.m.) at host Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vt. Norwich clinched a spot in the tournament by capturing the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship.
Clark and Norwich last met during the 2006 regular season, where the Cougars defeated the Cadets, 1-0, in overtime.
“Norwich was a relatively young team last time we played them,” Kulik said. “But, they have a lot of those players back that are now matured and ready to make a mark themselves.”
“I expect a competitive game that will most likely be determined on a couple of key plays along the way,” added Kulik, the 2008 NEWMAC Coach of the Year. “Hopefully we make more of those key plays.”
Clark is not the only NEWMAC team in the NCAA Tournament. Rival Babson College was awarded the conference’s automatic bid, while MIT received an at-large offer. Both teams will also be in action on Saturday.
“It’s great for the NEWMAC,” said Kulik. “The good part about playing in a competitive conference like ours is that it prepares and hardens you for the types of games that we are going to play this weekend. Hopefully, all of us can do a good job in the tournament.”
Game Recap
Clark fell to Norwich 1-0 in the NCAA Regional final.
Norwich had some solid chances in the first 25 minutes of the game, but could not get on the board. Manny Bol had a chance for the Cadets in the 20th minute, but had his shot from the box saved by Peter Wise after a scramble. Just five minutes later, Jason Grupp saw his header go just wide after a a nice service from the corner. Clark had an opportunity of its own with just a few minutes left in the half, as Baran Doenmez ripped a shot from eight yards out that hit the side of the net.
Norwich scored the game's only goal just 6:33 into the second half as Rob Harlow took in a nice through pass from Jake Yaris on the left side. Harlow took a quick step before blasting a shot into the bottom left corner of the net for his 11th goal of the season.
The Cadets had another great chance a few minutes later, but Jason Grupp's header hit the crossbar after a corner kick.
Clark came on strong in the final five minutes, with a few opportunities to tie the game. Andrew Ninnemann took a pass from John Machado and sent a shot just over the crossbar in the 83rd minute. Charles Maxwell kept the shutout intact with two minutes to play, as he made a nice save on Adrian Blackadar's bouncing shot.
Maxwell ended the day with three saves for his sixth shutout of the season, while Wise made four stops for Clark.
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CLARK ATHLETES EARN NEWMAC ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
A total of seventeen Clark University spring athletes were named to the New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Academic All-Conference team.
Honorees must have met the following criteria: earned a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5/4.0 scale or 4.35/5.0 scale after the 2008 spring semester, achieved second year academic status at his/her institution, and been member of the varsity team for the entire season.
The Cougar women’s cross country team took the lead for Clark with five placers. Senior Kaitlyn Sephton (Waterboro, ME), junior Emma Siemasko (Beverly, MA), and two sophomores Brooke Badon (Middlefield, CT) and Heather Goodale (Middletown, CT) earned the honor.
For the women’s soccer squad, senior Julia Rizzo (Westboro, MA), juniors Lauren King (Piscataway, NJ) and Kerri Moy (Newton, MA) and sophomore Kristine Murrone (Middletown, CT) were placed on the All-Academic team.
As for Clark’s men’s cross country, two seniors, Caleb Evanter (Marblehead, MA) and Lee Stone (Centerport, NY) won the honor.
Almost the same results for the Cougar men’s soccer team, as two juniors Soeren Hilck (Hamburg, Germany) and Andrew Ninnemann (Menlo Park, CA) received academic recognition.
Clark’s women’s tennis team were represented on the All-Academic squad by senior Rebecca Good (Durham, CT) and junior Emily Schweitzer (Northampton, MA).
Finally, for the women’s volleyball team and field hockey team, there were two single recipients. Sophomore Emily Visone (West Hempstead, NY) of the women’s volleyball team and another sophomore Lauren DeMetro (Summit, NJ) of the field hockey squad gained the awards.
By: Bry’onna Mention, Sports Information Staff
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MEN'S SOCCER PLACES THREE ON ALL-NEWMAC; KULIK EARNS COACH OF THE YEAR
Clark University placed three players on the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) men's soccer All-Conference teams, it was announced on Tuesday. Senior Peter Wise was the top vote getter for the All-Conference goalkeeper award earning him NEWMAC first-team honors, while junior Preben Gietz and sophomore Baran Doenmez garnered their first All-Conference recognition with second-team nods. Head Coach David Kulik was named the conference coach of the year for the second time in four years.
Wise, from Providence, R.I., backstopped the team to a first place finish in goals allowed (.62), goals against average (.60) and shared the top spot in shutouts (.62) in the conference. Individually, the senior captain tied for first in shutouts and finished top three in three other categories in the NEWMAC, including goals against average (2nd/.62), save percentage (2nd/.857) and saves (3rd/3.75). He had a career-high eight shutouts and held half of the league scoreless. Last year, Wise was named to the All-NEWMAC second team.
A native of Waterloo, Belgium, Gietz was Clark's most experienced defender this season. The junior center back dominated balls in the air and helped limit the oppositions' chances on net en route to 10 shutouts this fall. Gietz also chipped in offensively with three points on one goal and an assist.
Doenmez, a sophomore transfer from Dublin, N.H., has been a welcomed addition to Clark's attack this year. He led the team in scoring with eight goals, four of which were game-winners, and finished second on the squad in assists (4). Doenmez is tied for sixth in the NEWMAC in both goals (8) and points (20).
Kulik, in his ninth year coaching the Cougars, has led Clark to six consecutive winning seasons, continual regional acclaim, and its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 21 years.
Clark (11-4-2) will face Norwich University at host Middlebury College in an NCAA Regional Tournament game on Saturday (1:30 p.m.).
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RIZZO AND CLARK EARN WOMEN'S SOCCER NEWMAC ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
For the second consecutive year, Clark University's Julia Rizzo and Joanna Clark were named to the women's soccer New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) All-Conference second teams, it was announced by the conference office on Tuesday.
Rizzo has anchored Clark's backfield this season, helping the team to seven victories - all by shutout - which tied them for third in the conference in the category. The senior co-captain has proven to be one of the team's most versatile players, as she has helped in both the forward and midfield positions this fall. Rizzo, a native of Westboro, Mass., leads the team in assists (4) and is ranked in the top-10 in helpers in the NEWMAC.
In just her second season as the team's starting goalie, Clark led the Cougars to a career-high eight shutouts and tied for third in the conference in scoreless games. In overall statistics in the NEWMAC, the Windham, Me. product finished second in shutouts and is ranked in the top-five in goals against average (1.35) and top-six in save percentage (.780). Clark has posted shutouts in four of the nine NEWMAC teams she's faced, and stopped a career-high 12 shots in the Cougars' penalty kick advantage (4-3) over Babson College in the quarterfinals of the NEWMAC Tournament.
Clark advanced to the conference tournament semifinals for the first time in three years and concluded the season at 7-10-1.
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DAWSEY NAMED TO THE NEWMAC ALL-CONFERENCE FIELD HOCKEY TEAM
Senior Kathryn Dawsey represented Clark University on the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) field hockey All-Star second team. Clark also won the NEWMAC Sportsmanship award for the second time.
Originally from Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Dawsey emerged as one of the conferences top goalies and was one of Clark's most consistent performers this season. In the NEWMAC, she topped the field in individual saves (11.83) and saves per game (11.83) and finished third in save percentage (.845), to go along with a top-six ranking in goals against average (1.91). Dawsey led the conference in overall statistics in saves (10.13) and save percentage (.822), and tied for fourth in shutouts (4). She recorded nine double-digit save performances this year, including a season-high 22 saves - one stop shy of her career high - against Springfield. Dawsey's prowess in the cage helped keep Clark in games against some of the toughest offensive teams in the region. This is her first appearance on the All-NEWMAC squad.
Clark ended the 2008 campaign with a 5-11 campaign.
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The highlights for this newsletter are provided by
Dalya Qualls, Sports Information Director, 508-793-7164.
Email: dqualls@clarku.edu
Newsletter designed by Joe Brady
(Head Women's Soccer Coach/Athletic Web Site Administrator)
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2008 FALL SEASON RECAPS 
