BEAVER FALLS, Pa. — Marietta College and Geneva College battled to a double overtime scoreless draw Saturday (Sept. 4) evening in nonconference men's soccer action. With the tie, Marietta moves to 0-1-1 on the season. Geneva is 1-0-1 overall.
"This was not a game that the purists would have liked. The field conditions made it tough for either team to play soccer. A draw was probably a fair result," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "We have many things we need to sort out moving forward as we have yet to put a good consistent half together. Do that with our schedule and it won't result in many wins."
Freshman goalkeeper
Joey Backhaus (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) was impressive in his collegiate debut for the Pioneers posting three saves and the first clean sheet of his career. Backhaus, along with Marietta's talented back line, held Geneva to just one shot on goal in the two overtime periods.
Gabe Kemp was equally outstanding in goal for the Golden Tornadoes. The Geneva keeper had four saves and has not allowed a goal in two matches this season covering 200 minutes of playing time.
Marietta's
Reggie Grayek (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary College Prep.) created the best scoring opportunity of the night when he broke away from the Geneva defense creating a one-on-one with Kemp in the 108th minute. Grayek's shot attempt was corralled by Kemp at the top of the box to preserve the shutout.
For the match, Geneva took 11 total shots to nine for the Pioneers. Marietta had a slight edge in shots on goal, 4-3. The Golden Tornadoes took all six corner kicks in the match.
Marietta hosts Denison University on Thursday (Sept. 9) in its home opener. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.
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.
