MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College men's lacrosse team broke their three game losing streak four with an explosive 22-5 win over Wilmington College on Friday (March 29) evening at Don Drumm Stadium. With the win the Pioneers improve to 4-5 overall and 1-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. With the loss the Quakers fall to 4-6 overall and 0-2 in the OAC.
"It was awesome to see some different names on the scoresheet," said Marietta Head Coach
Ben Suchomma. "There are a lot of guys who show up everyday and put in the work but don't get the credit. It's nice to see those guys get some credit today."
Wilmington was able to put the first score on the board after Marietta committed a turnover on their first possession. Tyler Cunningham beat the defense back and give the Quakers a 1-0 lead. Marietta broke through two minutes later as
Logan Podgorski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park) scored with a man-advantage. The Pioneers scored just two minutes later as
Chase Franklin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) broke away for an unassisted score. Cunningham found the back of the net again for Wilmington, but Marietta closed the quarter with two goals from Podgorski and a goal from
Sam Leininger (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) and the Pionners took a 5-2 lead into the second quarter.
Marietta controlled the first few minutes of the second period and extended the lead further. Podgorski scored twice more and
Nate Neal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) added a score to put the lead at six. Wilmington tried to slow the momentum and broke through with a goal from Nick Roca at the 9:24 mark. The Pioneers continued to light up the scoreboard as Neal, Leininger, and Podgorski added goals to their totals, and
Tyler Reich (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin) scored in the final two minutes. Marietta went into intermission with 12-3 lead.
The Pioneers kept the Quakers on the defensive through much of the third period as they added four more scores, two from Reich, to extend the lead to 13. Kegan Campbell finally got the Quakers back on the board with 1:18 left in the quarter, but Marietta took a healthy 16-4 lead in the final stanza. The Pioneers added six more scores, including the first career goal scored by
Bret Dickerson (Troy, Mich./Troy), and cruised to a 22-5 victory.
Ben Millard (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) played the first 30 minutes in the net for Marietta. He faced seven shots, five of which were on goal, and made two saves.
James Cipollone (Forest Hill, Md./Calvert Hall) played the second half. He faced seven shots, five of which were on goal, and made three saves
Podgorski's eight goals tied the mark for most goals in a Marietta lacrosse match. Franklin scored goals and assisted on four others. Reich finished with three scores and four assists. The Marietta face-off unit was nearly unbeatable as Neal and Dickerson combined for 27-for-31 on the evening. They also both picked up 10 groundball apiece. The Pioneer defense caused 14 turnovers in the game with four coming from
Barrett Lindell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mariemont) and three from
Caden Alkire (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial).
The Pioneers will return home and play this Wednesday (April 3) when they host Mount Union, with the game scheduled to begin at 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 X and Instagram.
