MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College men's lacrosse team returned home for the first time in over a month and dropped a close match to Saint Vincent College, 10-6, on Saturday (March 19) evening. With the loss the Pioneers drop to 2-5 overall and the Bearcats remain undefeated at 5-0.
 
The Bearcats scored first as Andrew Coholich found the net at the 11:14 mark, but Quinn Rundgren (Angier, N.C./Fuquay Varina) evened it up a minute later.  Connor Ficke (Saint Leonard, Md./Calvert) gave the Pioneers their first lead as he swooped in from behind the net to score with six minutes remaining.  After Saint Vincent scored two consecutive goals, Ficke tied it up with an unassisted goal.  Both teams would be knotted up at three going into the second period.  Over the next 15 minutes, the two teams could only muster three goals.  Chase Mullen (Cabot, Pa./Knoch) and Nate Neal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) would hit paydirt and Marietta went into intermission with a slight 5-4 lead.
 
The Pioneers were basically shut down in the second half only managing to score once.  Ficke caused a turnover and caught Bearcat goalie Noah Spurling out of the crease for an empty net goal.  That would be their only second-half goal.  Conversely, Saint Vincent scored six times in the half to take control and claim the victory.
 
Dane Barker (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day) played all 60 minutes in the net, he faced 30 shots, 16 of which were on goal, and made six saves in the game. 
 
Ficke's three goals led the Pioneers in scoring and he also caused three turnovers.  Nathan Grover (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) had a good day on the face off, winning 12 of 17.  Rundgren picked up a team high six groundballs. 
 
Marietta will be back in action Saturday (March 26) as they begin their conference schedule.  The Pioneers will welcome in John Carroll University.  The game scheduled to begin at 1 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.