MARIETTA, Ohio — After playing the first five matches of the season on the road, the Marietta College men's soccer team finally opened its home schedule on Friday (Sept. 18) and posted a 1-0 shutout of the University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg. The Pioneers even their overall record at 3-3, while the Bobcats slip to 0-4-1 on the year.
The lone goal of the match came at the 9:12 mark of the first half and then the defenses took over.
Noah Laliberty (Scott Depot, W.Va./Winfield) slipped a through ball into the 6-yard box to
Zach Johnson (Beckley, W.Va./Woodrow Wilson) who ricocheted a shot off the cross bar and into the goal for the game winner. The goal was Johnson's fourth of the season.
Despite allowing the goal, Greensburg played Marietta even in the first half. Both teams took nine shots with each keeper making six saves. The Bobcats actually held a slim 4-3 advantage in corners in the first 45 minutes.
Marietta dominated the second half but couldn't slip another shot into the net. Pitt-Greensburg keeper Reese Laurel took over for starter Brandon Soellner at halftime and turned away several Pioneers scoring chances. Laurel notched seven saves in the period.
The Pioneers outshot Greensburg 14-2 in the second half and took all six corners in the period.
Tyler Sholl (Johnstown/Big Walnut) had a strong performance in goal for the Pioneers, Sholl made seven saves en route to his first clean sheet of the season. Marietta's back line of
Tyler Bro (Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg),
Kyle Rosselot (Twinsburg/Twinsburg),
Anthony D'Egidio (Canton/Dover) and Laliberty kept the Bobcat attack at bay all afternoon.
Marietta hosts La Roche College on Sunday (Sept. 20) at 2:00 p.m. 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.
