NEW WILMINGTON, PA. – The Marietta College men's lacrosse team dropped a match on the road to Westminster College, 21-8 on Wednesday (March 15) evening. With the loss the Pioneers drop to 1-3 overall and with the victory the Titans improve to 1-3 overall.  
 
The two teams got on the board quickly as they each scored a goal in the first three minutes.  Nick Hubner's goal at the 13:28 mark was answered a minute later as Chase Franklin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) scored with an assist from Connor Ficke (Saint Leonard, Md./Calvert).  That would be the last of the period for the Pioneers, but Westminster sent five more shots in the net to take a 6-1 lead going into period two.

The Titans began the second period much like they started the first.  Westminster scored three times to extend the lead to 9-1 at the 7:50 mark.  Kyle Fleshman (Davidsonville, Md./South River) slowed the momentum with a goal with three minutes remaining, assisted by Nate Neal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park).  Thomas Zerman (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) scored a goal a minute later to cut into the margin, but the Titans went into halftime with a 9-3 lead.

Marietta wasted no time in the third period putting points on the board.  Franklin scored just seconds in and Josh Walters (Cleves, Ohio/Taylor) scored at the 12:23 mark to cut the lead to four.  Westminster answered with a four goal rally over the next three minutes to extend the lead to 13-5.  Franklin found the net again, but the game was slipping away as the Titans tacked on two more goals to the put the core at 15-6 going into the fourth period.  Westminster would outscore the Pioneers 5-2 in the final period and close out the match, 21-8.

Ben Millard (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) got the start in the net for the Pioneers and play the first quarter.  He faced 20 shots, 10 of which were on goal, and made four saves.  James Cippollone came in to work the 2^nd and third periods.  He faced 24 shots, 18 of which were on goals, and made nine saves.    Dane Barker (Cincinnati, Ohio/Summit Country Day) worked the fourth period and faced 15 shots, 10 of which were on goal, and made four saves. 
 
The Pioneers were led by Franklin with those four goals. Mullen, Walters, Fleshman, and Zerman scored one goal apiece.   Nate Neal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) handled the face-off duties and was 15 of 24 on the day and led the way picking up nine groundballs. 
 
Marietta will be back in action Saturday (March 18) when they come home to take on Allegheny College with the game scheduled to begin at  1p.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.