Men's Soccer Clipped by Clark, 4-1

QUINCY, Mass.- The Eastern Nazarene College men's soccer team  absorbed a 4-1 non-conference loss to Clark University Wednesday evening under the lights of Veterans Memorial Stadium. The Lions slip to 4-7-2 on the year while the Cougars improve to 5-6 overall with the result.

The visitors got on the board first as Will Van Noppen notched his 10th goal of the season in the seventh minute. Van Noppen ran onto a through ball on the right side of the penalty area before shooting the ball into the far left corner to lift Clark to a 1-0 advantage early on in the match.

Oscar Zapata extended the Cougars lead to 2-0 in the 35th minute. Zapata one-timed a loose ball inside the box and fired the ball into the right side of the net for his seventh tally of the year.

Clark outshot the Lions 9-4 in the opening half while earning three corner kicks and conceding one.

Clark tacked on its third goal of the game in the 53rd minute as Kenneth Vera deflected a free kick by Gianluca Ranallo into the back of the net for his first marker of the fall.

Rookie Emmanuel Ajayi (Beltsville, Md.) potted his first collegiate goal in the 62nd minute to narrow the Lions' deficit to 3-1. Ajayi headed in a free kick service from Edgar Arceo (Minden, Nev.). Arceo picked up his team-leading seventh helper of the season on the freshman's tally.

The Cougars restored their lead to three scores in the 82nd minute. Vera buried his second marker of the contest as he one-timed a shot into the lower left corner of the cage from inside the penalty area.

The visitors concluded the match with an 18-10 margin in shots and a 5-1 advantage in corner kicks earned.

Jared Egeler (Danbury, Conn.) stopped four shots in goal for the Lions as he made his second start of the season between the pipes. Sophomore Jake Johnson (Mount Bethel, Pa.) recorded two saves in relief action, taking over in goal for the hosts after halftime. Ryan King turned aside five shots in the cage for Clark to earn the win.

Up next, Eastern Nazarene will look to claim its first conference win of the season as it hosts Roger Williams October 6.