WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein University goalkeeper Kyle Ripma stopped a Marietta College penalty kick with less than a minute remaining in the match to preserve the Cardinals' 2-1 win in men's soccer action Wednesday (Oct. 24).
With the win Otterbein improves to 6-8-2 on the season and 2-4-2 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta now stands 4-12 overall and 1-7 in league play.
Otterbein had an early goal waved off in the 14th minute. Justin Esarey took a free kick from near midfield and sent the ball into the box. Marietta keeper #
Chris Stollar (Marietta/Marietta)# collided with Otterbein's Conor Holland trying for the save and the ball deflected into the goal. However, the referee whistled Holland for a foul and disallowed the goal.
The Cardinals did break the scoreless tie at the 36:25 mark when Justin Cox sent a pass into the box to Adam Tackett. Tackett collected the ball and fired a shot inside the far post for a 1-0 lead.
Esarey made it 2-0 in favor of Otterbein in the 41st minute. Dustin Kiaski's corner kick into the box was headed in by Esarey for the game-winner.
Marietta refused to go away quietly and went on the attack in the second period. The Pioneers cut the deficit in half in the 58th minute. Ripma came off his line to challenge Marietta sophomore #
Wesley Riley (Marietta/Marietta)#, who fired a shot past the Otterbein keeper and into the lower right corner of the net.
The Pioneers had an opportunity to send the match into overtime when the Cardinals were called for a foul inside the penalty area. With the final minute of play winding down senior #
Brandon Siringer (Willowick/Eastlake North)# stepped up to take the penalty kick. Ripma made a diving stop on the shot to secure the win for Otterbein.
For the match, Otterbein held an 18-14 advantage in shots, while Marietta took seven corner kicks to the Cardinals' six.
Stollar had three saves in goal for the Pioneers in the first half. Junior #
Bobby Thaxton (Milford/Milford)# played the second period and made two saves. Ripma went the distance in net for the Cardinals making five saves.
Marietta finishes up the regular season on Saturday (Oct. 27) when Baldwin Wallace University comes to town for a 3:00 p.m. match. Fans can catch the action live at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
