Let The Games Begin: Week Packed With Contests
Worcester, Mass. – Now that Labor Day weekend – the unofficial end of the summer for most – has come and gone, the 2011-12 season of Clark Athletics has now come more into focus.
Although the season for most fall teams has already begun, this week features several interesting matchups, important rematches, and battles with area rivals that can help shape where respective seasons will go.
Volleyball, coming off of a 3-2 marathon match loss at Mount Ida last Thursday, will play four matches over the next seven days. Their daunting slate begins with regional power Eastern Connecticut State on Tuesday evening at the Kneller Athletic Center. The Warriors have made 16 NCAA Tournament appearances – the most of any New England institution and enter the matchup at 3-1 following three wins at the Wheaton College Invitational.
In their 3-2 loss to the Mustangs, Clark got 14 kills from Amira Tranchell (Falmouth, Mass.), 37 assists from Rachel Spera (North Hollywood, Calif.) and five blocks from freshman Savonnah Rowe (New York, N.Y.).
In addition to the meeting with ECSU, the Cougars will host Worcester-area rival Becker on Thursday before beginning defense of their Worcester City Tournament title on Saturday against Worcester State at WPI.
Field Hockey got back on track on Saturday with a 2-0 win over New England College following their season opening loss to Worcester State. All-American Mel Melkonian (Worcester, Mass.) has all three of the Cougars’ goals this season and netminder Kate McGrath (Wilmington, Mass.) posted her third shutout in her last six games.
Clark visits UMass-Dartmouth on Thursday – a team they have lost three straight matchups with, including last season’s 4-3 overtime heartbreaker – before returning home on Saturday to host Becker.
Melkonian, who set several single-season school records in 2010, is on the cusp of becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer. She has 126 career points, two shy of the all-time mark held by Laura Stuto (1989-92) and Jessica Petit (2000-03) and needs just one goal to break the school mark for goals in a career of 54 set by Stuto.
Women’s soccer, sitting at 1-1 after Saturday’s 3-1 win over Elms, hosts Wentworth Institute of Technology in a soccer doubleheader on Wednesday before visiting Worcester State on Saturday.
The Cougars got goals from Hannah Moriarty (Millbury, Mass.), Jenna Zarou (Garden City, N.Y.) and Lucia Pantuosco (Somers, Conn.) in the win over the Blazers and goalkeeper Audrey Eisemann (Worcester, Mass.) made a couple of point-blank saves – a definite confidence boost for the first year starter.
Clark and the Leopards have only played one other time – in the opening round of the 2005 ECAC Tournament – a match the Cougars won 1-0.
Their history with the Lancers is much different – with the Cougars holding a 7-5 edge in the all-time series following last year’s 1-0 win on Kristen Murrone’s golden goal in the 93rd minute.
Men’s soccer is definitely riding high after a pair of remarkable individual performances over the weekend that leaves them sitting at 2-0.
First, freshman Oscar Zapata (Lima, Peru) notched a hat trick in his first collegiate contest in a 4-2 win over Anna Maria on Friday. Then on Sunday, senior Adrian Blackadar (Warwick, R.I.) scored a pair of goals 23 seconds apart to lift the Cougars past Becker on Sunday.
Clark will need all the good vibes they can get with their upcoming schedule. On Wednesday, they host Nichols College - a team that shut them out a season ago and returns All-America defender David Johnson. So far this season, the Bison have posted a pair of 1-0 wins behind senior Brendan Hamilton, who has 20 career shutouts.
Then on Saturday, Clark hosts defending ECAC Tournament Champion, Brandeis. The Judges have won their first two matches this season by a combined score of 10-0.
After posting five wins in 2010, the Cougar women’s tennis team seems poised to continue the program’s ascension. Clark returns five of their top six singles players, including Gaby Suriano (Lima, Peru) who went 10-1 at No. 1 singles. Also back in the fold is senior Julia Bergeron (Portland, Maine), who played most of the year at No. 3, but went 2-2 at No. 2 singles.
The Cougars open their season with a pair of matches beginning Thursday at Simmons College and then on Saturday at home against NEWMAC power Wheaton.
There were great strides made on the cross country course over the past weekend. The women turned in a third place finish at the Keene State Alumni Invitational. Senior Isabel Burgess (Cumberland Foreside, Maine) was the Cougars’ top finisher, but others shined as well. Erika Roth (Saco, Maine) and freshman Maya Grevatt (Charlotte, Vt.) also ran excellent times, buoying the team’s confidence heading into this weekend’s Smith College Invitational.
On the men’s side, newcomer Nathan Buck (Portland, Maine) showed well, finishing first among all Cougars. He was followed by Robert Gammell (Mattapoisett, Mass.) and Joseph Kennelly (New Windsor, N.Y.) – forming an excellent trio for the Clark men in 2011.
