MARIETTA, Ohio –  The Marietta College men's lacrosse team was victorious over Bethany College, 18-2 on Wednesday (March 20).  With the win the Pioneers improve to 3-3 on the season and with the loss the Bison fall to 3-3.  

Head Coach Shawn Runyon said, "Today was a good team win, and we were able to execute the fundamentals in all phases of the game.  We have some things to clean up moving forward, but it is nice to have some momentum going into conference play."

Marietta opened the scoring three minutes into the game when Connor Ficke (Saint Leonard, Md./Calvert) scored an unassisted goal.  After six minutes of scoreless action, the Pioneers made the score 2-0 when Jayson White (Salisbury, Md./Wicomico) found the back of the net.  Bethany cut the Marietta advantage to 2-1, but the Pioneers answered quickly with a goal from Chad Stowell (Watertown, Minn./Delano).  Marietta entered the second quarter ahead, 3-1.  

The Pioneers dominated the second quarter as they scored four unanswered goals.  The Marietta goals came from Ficke as he found the back of the net three times in the second quarter.  The final goal of the half was scored by Stowell.  Three of the goals were assisted, as Quinn Rundgren (Angier, N.C./Fuquay Varina), Seth Hower (Leola, Pa./Conestoga Valley), and Jackson McGill (New Market, Md./Oakdale) each had an assist.

The Pioneers momentum carried over to the third quarter as they scored five third quarter goals.  Rundgren scored the first three goals of the third quarter and put Marietta up, 11-1 just over five minutes into the quarter.  The final two goals of the quarter were scored by Stowell and the Pioneers entered the fourth quarter ahead, 13-1.  

Marietta continued to pull away in the fourth quarter when Justin Blasko (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) scored off a feed from Rundgren.  A minute later Noah Coleman (Kettering, Ohio/Fairmont Kettering) scored the first goal of his career off an assist from John Sanford (Monrovia, Md./Urbana).  Blasko tacked on his second goal of the game, and White found the back of the net to provide the Pioneers a 17-1 edge.  After Bethany tacked on a goal with just under two minutes to play in the game, Blake Chisholm (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon McMillan) scored the final goal of the game and Marietta won, 18-2.  

The Pioneers were led by Stowell as he had five goals, seven ground balls, and a pair of caused turnovers.  Ficke added to the offense with four goals, one assist, and a ground ball.  Rundgren added three goals,  a game high four assists, and two ground balls.  

The Marietta defense was anchored by TJ West (Kingwood, Texas/Kingwood), Daniel Blaine (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty), Jacob Morlando (White Bear Lake, Minn./Stillwater), and Henry Clark (Moreland Hills, Ohio/Orange).  The defense held the Bison scoreless for the second and third quarters, which allow the offense to stretch out the lead.  

In net for the Pioneers was Ryan McLane (Avon, Ohio/Avon), he faced 29 shots, 12 of which were on goal, and made 10 saves.  

Marietta will return to the field Saturday (March 23) when they open Ohio Athletic Conference play on the road against Heidelberg, with the game scheduled to start at 1 p.m.

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.