WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. - Junior midfielder Ryan Clark (Freehold, N.J./Freehold
Township) dished out his fourth assist of the weekend, but the Monmouth
University men's soccer team was defeated, 2-1, Sunday afternoon on The Great
Lawn. With the loss, the Hawks fall to 7-3-0 (1-1-0 NEC), while the Blue Devils
improve to 4-6-0 (1-1-0 NEC). The loss was just the third home Northeast
Conference defeat in Head Coach Robert McCourt's eight years at Monmouth.
Kalle Sotka (Helsinki, Finland/Makelanrinteen Sports) got the Hawks on the
board first in the 35th minute, heading it in from close range off
Clark's free kick from just outside the 18-yard box near the goal line.
The score evened in the 54th minute, when a Monmouth defender dove
toward the net in an attempt to head a cross wide. Instead the ball found the
back of the net for an own goal.
Less than eight minutes later, Eddy Bogle beat his defender to a long ball
played into the box by Mamadou Dioubate. Monmouth junior goalkeeper Alex
Blackburn (Natick, Mass./Natick) charged off his line, but Bogle got his foot
on the ball before he could get to the spot of the ball, 15 yards in front of
the net.
For the game, the Hawks outshot the Blue Devils, 12-10, while taking 10 corners
to the Blue Devils' four.
The Hawks return to NEC action Sunday, Oct. 9, when they travel to Smithfield,
R.I., to take on Bryant. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
