MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College opens play in the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament on Monday (Oct. 31) when Heidelberg University comes to town for a 2 p.m. kickoff at Marietta Field. The Pioneers, seeded fourth, enter the postseason with a 10-8-1 overall record, while the No. 5 seeded Student Princes are 7-9-1 on the season.
Fans can access live stats and live video for the match
HERE.
This will be the third straight year these two schools meet in the first round of the conference tournament. Marietta (5-4-0 OAC) defeated Heidelberg (4-4-1 OAC) in Tiffin, 3-0, during the regular season.
Josh Baskind (Solon, Ohio/Solon),
Luke Maher (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and
Andy Rolfes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) scored goals for the Pioneers in the match.
Marietta is making its seventh appearance in the OAC men's Soccer Tournament. The Pioneers qualified for the tournament in 1997, 2007-2009 and 2014-2015. Marietta has played eight tournament matches and faced the Student Princes in four of them.
Heidelberg defeated the Pioneers 2-1 in double overtime last fall and 2-1 in regulation in the first round of the 2014 postseason. In 2009, the Student Princes eliminated MC 1-0 in the opening round. Marietta defeated HU in the opening round of the 2008 tournament by the score of 4-1.
Monday's other first round match features No. 6 Mount Union (4-4-1 OAC) at No. 3 Capital (5-2-2 OAC). John Carroll (8-0-1 OAC) won the regular season crown and is the No. 1 seed. Ohio Northern (6-1-2 OAC) is the No. 2 seed.
The top two seeds will host Monday's winners. John Carroll will play the lowest remaining seed and Ohio Northern will host the second lowest remaining seed. The championship match is set for Saturday at the higher seed.
Leading the attack for the Pioneers is senior forward
Taylor Reasoner (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) and sophomore midfielder
Andy Rolfes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton). Taylor leads Marietta with nine goals and 21 points, ranking fifth in the OAC in both categories. Rolfes has seven goals for 14 points.
Junior goalkeeper
Tyler Sholl (Johnstown, Ohio/Big Walnut) anchors the Pioneer defense. He currently ranks third in the OAC with a 0.93 goals against average and fourth in the league with five shutouts.
Despite playing the fifth highest amount of minutes among the conference keepers, Sholl ranks ninth in saves. The lower save total is directly related to the play of Marietta's back line.
Led by junior captain
Brent Huck (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta), MC's defense has limited its opponents' scoring opportunities all season. Joining Huck on the back line is sophomore
Noah Laliberty (Scott Depot, W.Va./Winfield) and freshmen
Luke Maher (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and
Sebastian Ziaja (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest).
A trio of forwards lead the Heidelberg offensive attack. Sophomore Joseph Tallarico has six goals and 13 points while junior Alexis Mendoza has scored five goals and 12 total points. Freshman Rodrigo Meza has added four goals and two assists for 10 points.
Senior Alex Archambeau will likely get the start in goal. Archambeau has recorded 26 saves and a 1.99 goals against average this season.
Tickets are $7 for adults, $5 for senior citizens (62 years and older) and $2 for non-OAC students. OAC students with a valid school ID are admitted free of charge.
Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
