WILMINGTON, Ohio — The Marietta College men's soccer team posted a 2-1 win over Wilmington College Saturday (Oct. 13) evening. The Pioneers improve to 7-7 overall and 1-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Wilmington falls to 7-6 on the season and 2-3 in the OAC.
"We have been through an incredibly tough patch of games and the boys have never wavered from their belief that they can win games in this conference. It just wasn't happening for us," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "Tonight, while not very pleasing to the eye, was a game that was good for the soul. We are in a fight for our playoff lives and each game has to be played like a playoff game. Tonight, we did that."
Junior
Luke Maher (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) staked the Pioneers to a 1-0 lead with an unassisted goal in the eleventh minute. It was Maher's third goal of the season.
Wilmington leveled the match just before halftime capitalizing on a Pioneer mistake in the box. Marietta was whistled for a foul giving the Quakers a penalty kick. Niklas Martensson converted the penalty for his 14th goal of the season.
With eight yellow cards issued and 39 fouls called, it is no surprise that a foul would prove to be the difference in the match. Wilmington was called for a foul in the box in the 59th minute. Marietta's
Cole Pappas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth) buried the penalty kick in the back of the net for the game-winner.
Dakota Penquite (Blanchester, Ohio/Blanchester) posted three saves in goal for the Pioneers, while Felix Maurer had five saves for Wilmington.
Marietta outshot the Quakers, 16-9, including a 7-4 edge in shots on goal. The Pioneers also held a slim 6-4 advantage in corner kicks.
Marietta returns home to host the University of Mount Union on Wednesday (Oct. 17) at 7 p.m.
Fans can follow all of 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.
