GRANVILLE, Ohio — Denison University scored once in each half and then held off a late charge to defeat Marietta College by the score of 2-1 Thursday (Sept. 5) evening in men's soccer action. The Big Red improves to 2-1 on the season while Marietta slips to 1-2 overall.
"We dug ourselves a pretty big hole and had the equalizer on our foot," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "I can't complain about the effort but I can be critical of the finishing. It has to be better for us to win games."
Denison grabbed the early lead with a goal in the 37th minute. Luis Zamora slipped the ball inside the right post for the first goal of the match. Pierre de la Croix-Vaubois picked up the assist.
The Big Red doubled its lead four minutes into the second half. Leo Heard sent the ball into the box where Dan Milhollen headed it home for a 2-0 Denison lead.
Marietta turned up its offensive pressure but struggled to find the back of the net. The Pioneers finally broke through in the 85th minute.
Sebastian Ziaja (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) sent a long pass into the box where Will McAlister flicked it past the Denison keeper for his first career goal.
MC had a golden opportunity to level the match when Denison was whistled for a foul in the box.
Gavin Long (Surrey, United Kingdom/John Fisher School) took the penalty kick, but Denison's Dylan Brown smothered the shot to preserve the 2-1 Big Red lead.
The Pioneers controlled the ball for most of the second half and finished the match with an 18-11 advantage in shots, including 10-5 edge in shots on goal. Each team took five corners in the match.
Brown made nine stops in goal for Denison, while
Dakota Penquite (Blanchester, Ohio/Blanchester) posted three saves for the Pioneers.
Marietta returns home to host Allegheny College on Saturday (Sept. 7). Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. under the lights on Marietta 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.