COLUMBUS, Ohio – For the first time in program history, the Marietta College men's lacrosse team qualified for the Ohio Athletic Conference playoffs, but fell 16-4 to Capital University on in the quarterfinals on Saturday (April 27) afternoon.
"Proud of this group and what we have accomplished," said Marietta head coach
Ben Suchomma. "These guys continue to fight and crawl back no matter the score."
The Comets jumped out to a big lead in the first period as the scored the first seven goals, three coming from Jake Belt. The Pioneers finally broke through as
Logan Podgorski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park) scored from an assist from
Tyler Reich (Murrysville, Pa./Franklin). Capital tacked on one more score and led by seven goals after one period. Marietta was held scoreless for the next 15 minutes and trailed the Comets 11-1 going into the intermission.
Marietta added scores from Podgorski and
Nate Neal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) in the third period and held Capital to only one score, but the difference was too large to overcome. Podgorski added one final score in the closing minutes, but Capital would cruise to 16-4 victory and will go on to the OAC semifinals.
As they have all season,
Ben Millard (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) and
James Cipollone (Forest Hill, Md./Calvert Hall) split time in goal for the Pioneers, the duo faced 64 shots, 38 of which were on goal, and the tandem made 22 saves.
Marietta was led by Podgorski with three goals.
Marietta finished the season with a record of 7-10 overall. The seven wins tied the most in a season in program history, as they won seven games back in their debut season of 2019.
"We are excited to make history this year," concluded Suchomma. "But at the same time we are staying hungry and are ready to work even harder next year."
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
