MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College dropped a hard-fought match against Denison University by the score of 1-0 Wednesday (Sept. 6) evening in men's soccer action. The loss drops Marietta to 1-1-1 on the season, while Denison improves to 3-0-0 overall.
"This was a game where I knew we wouldn't see a whole lot of the ball. But what I take away from this was the effort. The boys were flying all over the place playing with a very blue collar mentality," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "A slip led to their goal and their keeper made a great save to keep us out of the net. Soccer can be strange at times and this game is proof of that. So we need to take away the positives and get ready for a tough weekend."
Both teams battled to a scoreless first half, but the Big Red did have the advantage with 6 first half shots compare to just one for the Pioneers. Marietta's
Joey Backhaus (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) easily handled both of his first half save opportunities.
Denison grabbed the advantage just three minutes into the second half. Jake Krueger fired a shot from the top of the box, just getting by the Pioneer keeper and breaking the scoreless tie. Denison kept up the pressure throughout the half as Marietta could not mount a counterattack. The Pioneers were outshot 14-4 in the final period and took their first loss of the season.
Tommy Prokos went the distance in goal for the Big Red posting four saves. Backhaus eight saves for the Pioneers in 90 minutes of action.
Marietta plays this weekend at the Alfred University Tournament. The Pioneers will play the host Saxons Saturday (Sept. 8) at 2:30 p.m. and Baruch College Sunday (Sept. 9) at 12:00 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.
