MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College opens play in the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament on Tuesday (Oct. 31) when the Pioneers travel to Ohio Northern University for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
Marietta, seeded fifth, enters the postseason with a 10-5-3 overall record, while the No. 4 seeded Polar Bears are 12-5-2 on the season. The Pioneers went 4-3-2 in the OAC and Ohio Northern finished 5-3-1 in conference matches.
Marietta and Ohio Northern battled to a 1-1 double overtime draw in the regular season finale this past Saturday.
Cole Pappas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth) scored an unassisted goal in the 66th minute to give MC the lead. But the Polar Bears forced overtime with a goal from Zachary Yoder with less than two minutes left in regulation.
Fans can access live stats and live video for the match
HERE.
For the first time in program history, Marietta has qualified for the OAC Men's Soccer Tournament for the fourth straight season. The Pioneers are making their eighth overall appearance in the league tournament. Marietta's previous appearances include 1997, 2007-2009, and 2014-16.
Tuesday's other first round match features No. 6 Heidelberg (4-4-1 OAC) at No. 3 Capital (5-2-2 OAC). Otterbein (9-0-0 OAC) won the regular season crown and is the No. 1 seed. John Carroll (7-2-0 OAC) is the No. 2 seed.
The top two seeds will host Monday's winners. Otterbein will play the lowest remaining seed and John Carroll will host the second lowest remaining seed. The championship match is set for Saturday at the higher seed.
Leading the attack for Marietta is juniors
Tom Sloan (Stockport, England/Wilmslow) and
Andy Rolfes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton). Sloan has tallied eight goals and two assists for 18 total points from his midfield position. Rolfes has five goals and two assist for 12 points on the wing.
Freshman midfielder
Robert Phillips (Elkins, W.Va./Aquinas Academy (Pa.)) has a team-high five assists to go along with a pair of goals.
Senior goalkeeper
Tyler Sholl (Johnstown, Ohio/Big Walnut) anchors the Pioneer defense. He currently ranks fourth in the OAC with six shutouts and is fifth with a 1.08 goals against average and .791 save percentage.
Marietta's back line includes senior
Brent Huck (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta), juniors
Zach Johnson (Beckley, W.Va./Woodrow Wilson) and
Noah Laliberty (Scott Depot, W.Va./Winfield) and sophomore
Sebastian Ziaja (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest).
Senior midfielder J.J. Fortner who has scored 14 goals and two assists for 30 total points leads the Polar Bear's. Senior forward Cory Lains has five goals and five assists for 15 points, while junior midfielder Joseph Schulte has six goals and two assists for 14 points.
Freshman Dylan Plank handles the goalkeeping duties for Ohio Northern. Plank has five clean sheets and a 0.94 goals against average this fall.
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.
