MARIETTA, Ohio — Otterbein University capitalized on a man advantage to score three second half goals as the Cardinals came from behind to beat Marietta College, 4-2, Wednesday (Oct. 26) evening in Ohio Athletic Conference men's soccer action.
The Pioneers fall to 5-9-3 overall and 3-5-0 in the OAC. Otterbein improves to 10-2-3 overall and 4-1-3- in the OAC.
"We started out so brightly and felt good when we were up 2-0. The undisciplined nature of this group cost us once again," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "We can't play against a good team like Otterbein with 10 players. It just doesn't work. And we found that out once again."
Marietta scored the first two goals of the night and led 2-0 less than 15 minutes into the match. The Pioneers' first goal was an own goal as the Cardinals knocked the ball into their own net off a Marietta corner kick in the 12th minute.
Taj Haidar (Sylvania, Ohio/Sylvania Southview) made it 2-0 in the 15th minute with an assist from
Jovonni Auddino (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville North). Auddino healed the ball to Haidar at the top of the 18-yard box who rifled a shot into the lower right corner of the net for the goal.
Otterbein cut the lead in half two minutes later. Gavin Miriello dropped a long pass into the box where Silver Abraham placed a shot inside the right post for the goal.
The turning point of the match came in the closing minutes of the first half.
Ben Teasdale (Yorkshire, United Kingdom/Lady Lumleys) was issued two yellow cards in just over a minute leaving Marietta to finish the match down a man.
Drew Holman tallied the equalizer in the 61st minute. Holman knocked a shot off the crossbar and then placed the follow up shot in the back of the net. Isaac Will put Otterbein ahead 3-2 in the 68th minute.
Will extended the lead when he converted a penalty kick in the 85th minute for the 4-2 lead.
Joey Backhaus (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) recorded four saves for the Pioneers, while Casey Thompson had two saves in goal for the Cardinals.
Marietta closes out the regular season at Ohio Northern University on Saturday (Oct. 29). Kickoff is set for 7 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.
