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 35^th 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 54^th 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.