11/05/2009
Men's Soccer: Cougars Still In Hunt For First-Ever NEWMAC Title

Worcester, Mass. - Following their dramatic ending in Wednesday's NEWMAC quarterfinal road matchup with Coast Guard, Clark remains in the hunt for its first-ever tournament title.

The Cougars advanced to the semifinal round of the 2009 NEWMAC Tournament on penalty kicks following a 1-1 tie with the host Bears. The trip into the conference's final four is the fourth time in the tournament's 11-year existence that Clark has made it to semifinal round.

Awaiting the sixth seeded Cougars is long-time nemesis, Wheaton, who has knocked the Scarlet and White out of the last two NEWMAC Tournaments (2007, 2008). The second-seeded Lyons have won four straight against Clark and stand 3-0 against the Cougars in all-time tournament meetings.

Following their first appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 21 years a season ago, Clark has posted a 9-6-2 overall record while getting significant contributions from freshmen goalkeeper Ryan King (Brimfield, Mass.), classmate Gianluca Ranallo (Scarsdale, N.Y.) as well as veterans Mike Trobagis (Acton, Mass.) and Tim Doenmez (Dublin, N.H.). King has started all 17 games between the pipes for the Cougars, registering four shutouts and a 1.04 goals against average. Ranallo, meanwhile, has appeared in 15 games, making 13 starts. He leads the team with seven assists - a total that tops all freshmen in the NEWMAC and is good for fourth in the league.

Trobagis, who earlier in the season moved into the top ten in scoring in school history, has had the best season of his career, registering a team-best 19 points (nine goals, one assist), while leading the NEWMAC in shots (76).

Doenmez, a second-team all-conference performer a season ago, is second on the team in scoring (16 points) and scored the Cougars' lone goal in the matchup with the Bears on Wednesday night.

Should Clark advance by Wheaton, they would face the winner of the WPI/Babson game on Sunday at 1 p.m. for a chance to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Saturday, November 7, 2009 at Babson College
Game One: No. 4 WPI vs. No. 1 Babson, 10:30 AM
Game Two: No. 6 Clark vs. No. 2 Wheaton, 1:30 PM


Sunday, November 8, 2009 at Babson College
Game Three: Game One Winner vs. Game Two Winner, 1:00 PM