SALEM, Virginia —
Luke Price (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) stopped a penalty kick in the 87th minute as the Marietta College men's soccer tie battled No. 15 ranked Roanoke College to a 0-0 tie Saturday (Sept. 14) afternoon. The Pioneers move to 2-3-1 on the season, while the Maroons are 2-0-2 overall.
"We knew coming into the trip it was going to be tough. I mean they are ranked for a reason," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "But part of the maturation process of this group is to deal with it. We don't hide from tough schedules and this one was difficult. We'll take the tie and move onto the next one on Wednesday."
Marietta starting keeper
Joey Backhaus (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) was whistled for a foul in the box giving Roanoke a penalty kick with less than three minutes left on the clock. Backhaus was injured on the play and left the pitch. Bergin called on Price to take over in goal and face the PK.
Roanoke's Ryan Pidgeon rocketed a shot toward the lower right corner of the net. Price reacted and got a hand on the shot stopping what would have been the game winner.
After being held without a shot in the first half, the Pioneers created several scoring opportunities in the second half.
Reggie Grayek (Shavertown, Pa./Wyoming Seminary College Prep.) had a pair of chances, but both were turned away by Roanoke keeper Luca Gustafson.
Marietta's defense played well all afternoon.
Sam Holthaus (Columbus, Ohio/University),
Christopher Rodriguez (Northridge, Calif./Daniel Pearl Magnet),
Andrew Walsh (Canonsburg, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic),
Ian Yarwood (Beloit, Ohio/West Branch),
Lee Miller (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville), and
Connor Heramb (Willoughby, Ohio/Willoughby South) combined to frustrate the Maroon attack.
Backhaus started in goal for the Pioneers and posted six saves before exiting the match in the 87th minute. Price made the most of his one save in the match. Gustafson had four saves in goal for Roanoke.
Marietta travels to Case Western Reserve for a 5 p.m. match on Wednesday (Sept. 18).
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 X and Instagram.
