MARIETTA, Ohio — No. 15 ranked Eastern University downed Marietta College by the score of 2-0 Friday (August 30) evening in men's soccer action. The Eagles start 2019 1-0 overall, while the Pioneers fall to 0-1 on the season.
"I thought we did a lot of good things, but it is a case that they converted two of their chances and we failed to convert any," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "We created them, but were not good enough in the final third. We need to learn from this and get ready for a tough Oberlin side."
Eastern got on the board in the 28th minute. Aidan Link found himself open at the top of the six-yard box, gathered a cross from Emmanuel Hewitt and buried the ball in the lower left corner of the net.
Kasper Zaba-Poplawski made it 2-0 in the 40th minute. Pioneer keeper
Trevor Dykstra (Jamestown, N.Y./Falconer Central) came off his line but failed to gain control of the ball. Zaba-Poplawski won the ball and slipped his shot inside the right post for the open net goal.
Marietta's best scoring opportunity of the first half came in the 44th minute. Freshman Will McAlister beat the Eagle defense and riffled a point blank shot that Eastern keeper Anthony Hitchcock knocked down to preserve the two-goal lead.
McAlister finished with three shots on goal for the Pioneers.
Gavin Long (Surrey, United Kingdom/John Fisher School) added a pair of shots on goal and
Robert Phillips (Elkins, W.Va./Aquinas Academy (Pa.)) had one.
Hitchcock went the distance in goal for the Eagles and recorded six saves. Dykstra posted three saves in net for the Pioneers.
For the match, Marietta outshot the Eagles, 14-12, including a slim 6-5 edge in shots on goal. The Pioneers took 10 corner kicks to just four for Eastern
Marietta plays at Oberlin College at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday (Sept. 1).
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.
