November 15, 2008

Clark Falls to Middlebury In NCAA Men's Soccer First Round

MIDDLEBURY, Vermont - The Clark University men's soccer team saw its first NCAA Tournament run in 21 years come to an end with a 1-0 loss to Norwich University at host Middlebury College on Saturday. The Cadets will take on the Panthers, who won 4-1 on penalty kicks after a scoreless tie with Framingham State. The regional final is set for a 1:00 p.m. start on Sunday. This will be the second meeting of the season between the two schools, with Brooks Farrar scoring the game-winner for Middlebury with 43 seconds left in double overtime back on October 22nd.

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 Grup'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.

Clark concluded the season at 11-5-2.