NEW CONCORD, Ohio — Marietta College scored three second-half goals to defeat rival Muskingum University 3-1 Tuesday (Oct. 3) evening in Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Soccer action. The Pioneers improve to 8-2-1 overall and 2-0 in the OAC. Muskingum falls to 2-8-1 on the season and 0-2 in league play.
"Rivalry games are always a bit tricky, as you can throw out the records," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "I thought we came out a bit flat in the first half and struggled to break down their two defensive banks of four. A couple of adjustments at halftime paid dividends in the second half and we were able to get a couple goals in the run of play and finished it off with a corner kick goal. I am happy where we are right now, but it is about to get a lot tougher with John Carroll coming to town on the weekend."
The Pioneers dominated play in the first half but couldn't get the ball in the back of the net. Despite outshooting the Muskies 14-3 in the first 45 minutes, the match was scoreless at halftime.
Cole Pappas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth) finally got Marietta on the board with an unassisted goal in the 55th minute. His shot just inside the right post beat the Muskie keeper for his second goal of the season.
The Pioneers doubled the lead five minutes later.
Tom Sloan (Stockport, England/Wilmslow) got behind the Muskie defense and placed a shot in the lower right corner of the net making it 2-0. It was Sloan's fifth goal of the season.
Muskingum refused to go away quietly and cut the Marietta lead in half in the 66th minute. Chase Hilliard beat Pioneer keeper
Tyler Sholl (Johnstown, Ohio/Big Walnut) to the lower corner of the net to get the Muskies on the scoreboard.
Brent Huck (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) gave the Pioneers some breathing room in the 72nd minute. The senior tallied his third goal of the season for a 3-1 Pioneer lead.
Tyler Sholl (Johnstown, Ohio/Big Walnut) had one save in goal for the Pioneers, while Josh Routte made seven saves for Muskingum.
For the match, Marietta outshot the Muskies 27-5, including a 10-2 advantage in shots on goal. The Pioneers were awarded 9 corners to just two for Muskingum.
Marietta returns home to host John Carroll University on Saturday (Oct. 7). Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. at Marietta Field.
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.
