MARIETTA, Ohio — No. 20 ranked Otterbein University scored just over a minute into the match and never looked back as the Cardinals defeated Marietta College, 3-0, Wednesday (Oct. 25) afternoon in men's soccer. The Pioneers are now 10-5-2 overall and 4-3-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Otterbein improves to 14-2 on the season and 8-0 in league play.
"Our performance today was flat. We knew that they were very good on set pieces and we give up a set piece goal one minute in to the game," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "That set the tone for us for sure. We came alive at the start of the second half, but defensive lapses finished us off. We have to go back to what made us successful and that entails a very blue collar work rate."
Marietta was whistled for a foul giving the Cardinals a free kick from just outside the 18-yard box on the right wing. Pau Piang sent the free kick to the far post where Jaden Lunger was waiting to head the ball in for what would prove to be the game winner 80 seconds into the match.
The Cardinal defense kept Marietta's strikers in check all afternoon and recorded the clean sheet. Collin Hoffman had five saves in goal for Otterbein.
Otterbein added two second half goals to put the game out of reach. Nate Norris scored in the 57th minute with an assist from Blake Steenrod. Gavin Koerner made it 3-0 in the 89th minute off a corner kick from Toby Varland.
Tyler Sholl (Johnstown, Ohio/Big Walnut) went the distance in goal for the Pioneers. He recorded two saves in the match.
Marietta did outshoot the Cardinals 12-8 in the match. However, Otterbein held a 6-5 edge in shots on goal. The Pioneers took three corner kicks, while Otterbein was awarded a pair of corners.
Marietta closes out the regular season at Ohio Northern University on Saturday (Oct. 28). Kickoff is set for 7 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.
