Springfield, Mass. – October 8, 2011 — The Springfield College men’s soccer team defeated Clark University, 4-1, this afternoon at the Irv Schmid Sports Complex in a New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference match to remain unbeaten in NEWMAC play. The Pride upped its record to 7-1-3 overall, and 4-0 in the league.

Clark is now 5-5-1 overall, 0-3-1 in the league.

The Pride drew first blood late in the first half. Freshman midfielder Kevin Nowak (Plainsboro, N.J.) dribbled up the right side of the field and found freshman midfielder Zach Dutter (Dallas, Pa.) on the left with a cross. DutterÂ's header found the back of the net to put Springfield up 1-0.

After the halftime break, Springfield got on the board again, this time courtesy of junior midfielder Alex Reilly (Ledyard, Conn.). After a nice save by the Clark goalie, Reilly got the ball on a turnover and fired from 25 yards out, stretching the Pride’s lead to 2-0.

Clark responded midway through the second half. Freshman forward Oscar Zapata (Lima, Peru) was fouled deep in the Springfield zone to earn the penalty kick. Zapata zipped his strike past Springfield freshman goalie Brett Bascom (New London, N.H.) on the left to put the Cougars on the board and cut the deficit to 2-1.

Less than a minute later, the Pride was back on the attack. Senior forward Eric Stalsburg (Old Saybrook, Conn.) sent a cross to Dutter, who headed it in for the second time of the day. Eight minutes later, Stalsburg added a goal of his own. He beat two Clark defenders to a loose ball and stabbed it into the top left shelf for the PrideÂ's fourth goal of the day, making it 4-1 in favor of the hosts.

Up next, Springfield will play a non-conference match at Mitchell Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 4 pm.