BOX SCORE

WORCESTER, Mass. – In need of a win to secure the program's 13th straight appearance in the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference men's soccer tournament, host Clark University saw its 2-1 lead late in the second half slip away and visiting Babson recorded a dramatic 3-2 double-overtime win on Saturday at Granger Soccer Field.

The Cougars wrap up their season at 5-9-2, while the Beavers, who have won four straight games and now sit at 12-3-2 on the season, earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming NEWMAC tournament and share the regular season conference title with MIT with identical 4-0-2 conference marks.

The Beavers got on the board almost immediately, getting the game's first marker at 2:33 when Ryan Obolewicz (Bow, N.H.) set up Max Walker (Newton, Mass.).

Clark got the equalizer before halftime when Adrian Blackadar (Warwick, R.I.) banged home a pass from Will Van Noppen (Providence, R.I.).

Blackadar and Van Noppen reversed roles to give the Cougars a 2-1 lead midway through the second half, as Van Noppen collected his sixth goal of the season at the 60:46 mark.

Babson, which outshot Clark 24-10, then evened the game in the 87th minute when reigning NEWMAC Rookie of the Year Eric Anderson (Scituate, Mass.) beat Cougar backstop Alphonso Alvarez (San Salvador, El Salvador) with help from Obolewicz.

Neither team could notch the game winner in the first overtime, and it looked like the game may be headed for a tie but Anderson hooked up with Billy Nickerson (Middleton, Mass.) for his fourth goal of the season at the 104:40 mark and sealed the Beaver victory.

Obolewicz ended with two assists, and Anderson had a goal and an assist for Babson, while Blackadar and Van Noppen each finished with a goal and an assist for the Scarlet and White.

Junior Peter Crowley (Lexington, Mass.) turned back six shots for Babson in goal, while Alvarez made eight saves for Clark.

Babson will host the semifinals and finals of the NEWMAC men's soccer championship next weekend for the third consecutive year. The #1 Beavers will take on the winner of Wednesday's first round game between #4 Coast Guard and #5 Springfield at 10:30am on Saturday. The second semifinal game will be played at 1:30pm Saturday and will feature #2 MIT and #3 Wheaton.

Note: Taken from a Clark University press release.