UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — No. 7 ranked and top-seeded John Carroll University posted a 1-0 shutout over Marietta College Thursday (Nov. 7) evening in the semifinals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.
The Blue Streaks improve to 16-2-2 on the season and advance to play Otterbein University, the No. 2 seed, in the championship match on Saturday at 7 p.m. Marietta ends its season with a 10-9-1 overall record.
"We stood and went toe to toe with these guys tonight," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "But they aren't the number 7 team in the country for nothing. They are good and had just a bit more than us tonight."
Both defenses dominated play in the first half as neither team was able to get on the board. Marietta managed just one shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes, while the Blue Streaks were limited to a pair.
John Carroll struck early in the second half and then held off a spirited Marietta squad for the win. Mario Aboumitri beat Marietta Keeper
Dakota Penquite (Blanchester, Ohio/Blanchester) in the 50th minute for the lone goal of the match. William Turrittin picked up the assist.
The Blue Streaks kept the pressure on and outshot Marietta 10-1 in the second half. JCU keeper Connor Robinson had one save and recorded his third clean sheet of the season.
With the loss, six Pioneers saw their careers in the Navy Blue and White come to a close.
Trevor Dykstra (Jamestown, N.Y./Falconer Central),
Austin Fligor (Middletown, Ohio/Madison),
Luke Maher (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan),
Matt Montgomery (Yorktown, Va./Tabb),
Cole Pappas (Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth) and
Sebastian Ziaja (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) leave as one of the best classes in program history.
"Our senior class goes out as the winningest four year class in school history and they helped change the culture of this program," Bergin said. "I am so thankful for their efforts to get us where we are today. We go back to work tomorrow, just this time it isn't on the field."
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.
