BETHANY, W.Va. — Marietta College defeated Bethany College by the score of 3-0 Wednesday (Sept. 19) evening in men's soccer action. The Pioneers improve to 4-3 on the season, while Bethany slips to 2-6-1 overall.
"I would classify this as a very professional performance. By that I mean we did our job creating numerous opportunities, were opportunistic on their mistakes and then limited their chances," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "I'm happy with the effort as this had the potential to be a trap game especially after the emotional high of Saturday's home opener. This is our second game in a row putting three goals in so that is a very encouraging sign."
Senior
Tom Sloan (Stockport, England/Wilmslow) staked the Pioneers to an early lead when he headed one home just 4:22 into the match.
Luke Maher (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) picked up the assist on Sloan's second goal of the season.
Things got rough in the second half as Bethany was whistled for three yellow cards and had a player sent off in the 64th minute.
Marietta used the man advantage to dominate possession.
Andy Rolfes (Cincinnati, Ohio/Princeton) doubled the Pioneer lead in the 66th minute with assists from
Austin Fligor (Middletown, Ohio/Madison) and
Noah Laliberty (Scott Depot, W.Va./Winfield). It is the second goal of the season for Rolfes.
Robert Phillips (Elkins, W.Va./Aquinas Academy (Pa.)) scored an unassisted goal in the 82nd minute to put the match out of reach. Phillips dribbled through the Bison defense and fired a shot inside the right post for his second goal of the season.
Marietta keeper
Trevor Dykstra (Jamestown, N.Y./Falconer Central) posted three saves en route to his second clean sheet of the season. The Pioneer back line of
Colston Roades (Mount Orab, Ohio/),
Cole Pappas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth),
Zach Johnson (Beckley, W.Va./Woodrow Wilson), Laliberty and
Sebastian Ziaja (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) limited Bethany's scoring opportunities all evening.
The Pioneers outshot Bethany, 15-6, including a 7-3 advantage in shots on goal. Marietta took six corners to just three for the Bison.
Bethany keeper Torben Grether went the distance in goal and made four saves for the Bison.
The Pioneers travel to Pennsylvania on Saturday (Sept. 22) for a 1 p.m. match at Washington and Jefferson College.
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.
