2008 Marietta College men's soccer preview
Pioneers look to build off last year's OAC playoff appearance

Aug. 11, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College men's soccer, under the direction of 11th-year Head Coach Patrick Holguin, looks to build off the momentum from last season’s run to the playoffs. The Pioneers finished 2007 with three straight OAC wins to clinch their first OAC playoff berth in ten years.

Marietta will be a veteran-led squad with seven seniors. Brad Baweja, Kyle Blankenship, Tad Cochran, Drew Craig, Jack Dunn, Steve Hagenau and Robert Vazquez return for their final season in blue and white.

Baweja will be a main stay for Marietta once again in the midfield. The midfielder finished tied for third on the team in points last season with nine. Junior forward Kyle Muth returns as the Pioneers leading point scorer. Muth led the team in goals with six and points with 16 on his way to earning All-OAC second team honors.

Marietta will look to its defense to provide the spark needed to make another OAC run. Junior Delè Adedapo will anchor a defensive that returns all its starters from a year ago. Junior Dan Cawley, sophomore Ryan Wong and Vazquez will join Adedapo in the back.

Hagenau will be the man in net this season. As a junior, he logged over 700 minutes in goal and finished with a .846 save percentage.

The Pioneers open the season at home against Malone College on Aug. 30. The Marietta College Soccer Classic will take place on Sept. 6-7. On Saturday, Christopher Newport (Va.) will take on Westminster (Pa.) in the first men's game of the day, while Marietta will battle Walsh University in the final game of the day. The consolation and championship games are slated for Sunday. Marietta will also compete in the Penn State-Altoona Tournament in Altoona, Pa. on Sept. 13-14 before it opens OAC play at home against Heidelberg on Oct. 4.