10/28/2009
General: Second Season Begins For Clark Squads On Saturday

Worcester, Mass. - With the regular season having come to an end or coming to a close in the coming days, two Clark University fall programs will begin NEWMAC Tournament play on Saturday, while two other who have qualified for postseason play, await their respective opponents.

Field hockey, who wraps up their regular season with a non-conference meeting against Wheelock on Thursday, earned the No. 3 seed and will host sixth-seeded Mount Holyoke in the quarterfinal round on Granger Field on Saturday at 1 p.m.

The Cougars are returning to the conference tournament after a one-year absence, having posted a 5-3 mark in league play. Mount Holyoke won the regular season matchup, 3-2 despite a pair of goals from Clark scoring machine Mel Melkonian (Worcester, Mass.). The winner of that matchup will face the winner of the No. 2 MIT and No. 7 Babson meeting on Saturday, November 7.

Women's soccer, who at one point reached as high as No. 9 in the regional rankings, will visit Springfield for a quarterfinal showdown with the Pride slated to begin at 7 p.m. In the regular season meeting, also in Springfield, the Cougars collected a double-overtime scoreless tie, snapping an 11-match losing streak to the Pride. Should Clark advance, they would face the winner of the No. 1 Wellesley and No. 8 Mount Holyoke matchup also on Saturday, November 7.

Meanwhile, following their stirring come-from-behind win over Wheaton on Tuesday, volleyball qualified for their second straight NEWMAC Tournament under third-year head coach Mickey Cahoon. With a win on Saturday over Babson, the Cougars could climb as high as the fifth seed. Regardless, volleyball will open tournament play on Tuesday, November 3 on the road at a place still to be determined.

That scenario applies for men's soccer as well, who wraps up regular season play today at Framingham State. The Cougars closed out NEWMAC play a week ago, dropping a 2-1 decision to Coast Guard. A key game to watch for Clark is the Springfield matchup with the Bears. A Coast Guard victory puts Clark in sixth place, but a win by the Pride drops the Cougars into seventh, relegating them to a road trip to No. 2 seed Wheaton since the leagues top team, Babson, will get the No. 1 seed and the bye that comes along with it.

Clark's quarterfinal game will take place on Saturday, November 7.