For Immediate Release

September 27, 2006

CLARK DOWNS RIC, 2-1, IN DOUBLE OVERTIME

               WORCESTER, MA – Shawn Barr’s (Chalfont, Pa.) goal with 57 seconds to play in the second overtime lifted the Clark University men’s soccer team to a 2-1 non-conference victory over Rhode Island College at Granger Field on Wednesday.

               Taking a crossing ball from Nicholas Voyiatzis (Worcester, Mass.) on the left side, Barr broke in down the middle and beat RIC goalie Jadon Neves (Warren, R.I.) for the game-winner.  It was his first goal of the season. 

               Clark extends its unbeaten streak to eight games and improves to 7-0-1.  RIC falls to 3-3.      

               Scoreless throughout most of the first half, RIC finally got on the board with just over three minutes remaining.  Josh Silva (Dartmouth, Mass.) fired a shot inside the box to the top left corner of the net to give the Anchormen a 1-0 lead.     

               Clark put the pressure on early in the second half.  The Cougars had several chances to score after consecutive corners in the 51^st minute.  Stillman Shaw (Anson, Me.) and Daniel Hoffman (Jamaica Plain, Mass.) took shots that were stopped at close range by RIC’s goalie Neves and knocked away by an Anchorman defender, respectively.  David Blum’s (Irvington, N.Y.) shot hit the post just seconds later.  In the 57^th minute, Barr’s bid rolled just wide of the left post.

               The Anchormen had an opportunity to extend their lead on a breakaway by Jimmy Hernandez (Providence, R.I.), but Cougar goalie Matt Talbot (Harvard, Mass.) turned him away at the 83:57 mark. 

               The Cougars sent the game into overtime with 1:31 left in regulation. Following a corner from Barr, Preban Gietz (Waterloo, Belgium) settled the ball in the box and shot one past Neves to tie it one-all. It was his first college goal. 

               Talbot turned aside four shots for Clark, while Neves made six saves.  The game was a rematch of last year’s ECAC Championship game, where RIC defeated the Cougars, 2-0. 

               Ranked fourth in New England, Clark will face eighth ranked Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Saturday (2:30 p.m.) at WPI.

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