MARIETTA, Ohio — Senior
Taylor Reasoner (Hudson/Hudson) scored twice as Marietta College downed visiting Baldwin Wallace University Friday (Oct. 9) afternoon in men's soccer action. The victory was Marietta's first over the Yellow Jackets since 2002 and improved the Pioneers' record to 7-6 overall and 2-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference.
"This was a game that a year ago we wouldn't have won," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "Our boys dug down deep and put together a huge second half. There is still more work to be done this season, but we continue to make strides as a program."
Michael Nauls (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock) nearly staked Marietta to an early lead when he fired a shot off the cross bar in the 38th minute. Reasoner was there for the follow up shot but his attempt was wide.
Baldwin Wallace (4-8-2 overall, 1-2 OAC) did grab the lead a few minutes later. Ryan Hassell took a cross from Adam Zaretti inside the six-yard box and slipped the ball inside the left post for a 1-0 Yellow Jacket lead in the 42nd minute.
Marietta regrouped at halftime and turned up the offensive pressure in the second half. The Pioneers took the first six shots of the period forcing BW keeper Zach Haynes to make several saves.
The equalizer came in the 71st minute when Reasoner buried a diving header into the back of the net for the first of his two goals.
Andy Rolfes (Cincinnati/Princeton) sent a perfect cross from the left side to the far post where Reasoner headed it home.
BW's Craig Wallace just missed a goal five minutes later when his header glanced off the cross bar and out of play.
As the clocked neared five minutes left in regulation, Reasoner took possession of the ball in the BW third of the field. With no teammates to support his run, Reasoner launched a shot from over 25-yards out. Haynes got his hands on the shot but failed to control the ball as it rolled into the goal for the game winner.
With his two goals against Baldwin Wallace, Reasoner now leads the OAC with 11 on the season. He is also tied for the lead in the conference with four game winning goals.
For the match, Marietta outshot the Yellow Jackets 18-11. The Pioneers took eight corner kicks to five for Baldwin Wallace.
Tyler Sholl (Johnstown/Big Walnut) finished with three saves in goal for Marietta, while Haynes had six for the Yellow Jackets.
Marietta hosts rival Muskingum University on Wednesday (Oct. 14) at 4:00 p.m. match. Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
