10/09/2009
General: Showdown Saturday: Important Games All Around For Cougars

Worcester, Mass. - With conference play well under way, several Clark University teams jockeying for postseason positioning face key matchups on Saturday.

Men's soccer, riding a three-match win streak, hosts crosstown rival WPI in a crucial matchup that begins at 12 p.m. The Cougars enter the match at 8-3 overall but 1-2 in NEWMAC action after having dropped a pair of one-goal road decisions to Babson and MIT.

The Engineers meanwhile, have a 9-2 ledger but have dropped five straight to Clark including four straight 1-0 defeats from 2004-07.

The Cougars have been paced offensively by graduate student Mike Trobagis (Acton, Mass.), who has 15 points (seven goals, one assist), and freshman Gianluca Ranallo (Scarsdale, N.Y.). Ranallo tied a school-record with four assists in a single game earlier in the year in ranks third in the nation in total assists among Division III freshmen.

In between the pipes, Ryan King (Brimfield, Mass.) has asserted himself well in his first collegiate season. He is 8-2 with three shutouts and has yet to give up more than two goals in a game this season.

WPI has won five of their last six, including a 2-1 overtime win over MIT last Saturday. The game will feature two of the most explosive players in the NEWMAC in Trobagis and Engineer freshman Jason Hopkins (Mendon, Mass.) who has ten goals in ten games this season.

The women's soccer program, coming off of a scoreless tie against defending NEWMAC Champion Springfield on the road, enters Saturday's game with a 9-3-1 Babson team riding a four-match unbeaten streak.

During the four-game stretch, Cougar netminder Joanna Clark (Windham, Maine) has posted three shutouts and allowed just one goal in 380 minutes.

Offensively, Charlotte Bowman (Peterborough, N.H.) has all of her team-leading four assists this season in the last four contests and Allison Kennelly (Irvington, N.Y.) has two goals and an assist.

Clark and Babson have played twice in each of the last two seasons. In 2007, the Beavers won the regular season matchup 2-0 and then defeated the Cougars in the NEWMAC Quarterfinals on penalty kicks.

Clark returned the favor in 2008, knocking Babson out of the conference tournament on penalty kicks before falling to Wheaton in the semifinals on a goal in the 89th minute.

The Beavers, ranked sixth in New England by the NSCAA, enter Saturday's meeting having won three straight, including a 1-0 win over regional power Tufts.

Babson and Clark will also square off in field hockey on Saturday with the 7-4 Beavers playing host. The Cougars (5-3, 2-0 NEWMAC) have won three straight games - their longest streak since 2004 when they opened the season 5-0. Included in the win streak is a 2-1 win over Springfield, the five-time defending conference champion, giving Clark their first win over the Pride in nine chances dating back to the 2002 season. Already having equaled their win total from 2008, the Cougars have also surpassed their NEWMAC win total as well.

Clark has been led offensively by the return of senior Lauren Blake (Oakland, Maine) and her 18 points (eight goals, two assists). She has been aided by standout freshman Mel Melkonian (Worcester, Mass.) who has 12 points in her first eight career games.

The Beavers, however, have a high-powered offensive attack led by Sarah Frelund and Jess Paladino who rank 1-2 in the NEWMAC in points scored this season. They have combined for 28 goals and 65 points and are coming off of a game in which they scored all three of their team's goals in a 5-3 loss to No. 20 Amherst on Thursday.

The Cougars counter with senior netminder Kathryn Dawsey (Saratoga Springs, N.Y.), a second-team all-conference performer a season ago, she ranks 22nd in the nation in goals against average (1.19).

Volleyball, coming off the biggest win for the program in several seasons, looks to keep its momentum rolling as it enters a tough stretch in its schedule. The Cougars will play nine of its final 11 matches away from the friendly confines of the Kneller Athletic Center starting with Saturday's matches against Trinity and Wentworth.

Freshman setter Emily Sullivan (Nashua, N.H.) has emerged as of late, handing out a combined 80 assists in the last two matches. Senior Emily Visone (West Hempstead, N.Y.) meanwhile, has collected 45 digs over that same span and sophomore Kristin McGinty (Vail, Colo.) has a team-leading 111 kills so far this season.