MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College men's lacrosse team was stayed close but could not close the gap and was defeated by Chatham University, 12-9, on Wednesday (Feb. 26) evening. With the loss the Pioneers drop to 2-1 overall and the victory evens the Cougars record to 2-2 overall.  
 
"When you play good teams, challenges, adversity, and problems are expected," said Marietta head coach Ben Suchomma.  "But they will not be permanent. We'll learn from tonight and keep working."
 
Chatham got on the board quickly as they scored two goals in the first four minutes.  Thomas Curtain scored an unassisted goal to open the offense and Ethan Rinker sent a shot into the net at the 11:46 mark to give the Cougars a 2-0 lead.  Chatham added to the tally six minutes later as Owen Miller picked up a rebound and scored a unassisted goal.  Marietta finally broke through in the closing minutes as Nate Neal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) scored off an assist from Aiden Evans (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) and the Pioneers trailed 3-1 going into the second quarter.
 
Both teams took a few minutes to get moving in the second quarter but Chatham got a goal from Tanner Marsh to extend the lead to three.  Evans answered at the 8:53 mark, but Marsh tacked on another score four minutes later to put the score at 5-2.  Logan Podgorski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park) punched in a score in the final two minutes, but yet again, the Cougars answered in the closing seconds as Rinker scored again.  Chatham led 7-3 going into the intermission. 

The third quarter saw the two teams trade scores.  Jacob Lubawy scored three minutes in, but Evans answered a minute later.  Chatham would then score a trio of goals over the next eight minutes to push the Cougar lead to six, their largest of the match at that point.   Neal slowed the momentum with a goal but Chatham led 10-5 going into the final period.
 
Although both teams went scoreless for the first half of the final period, Marietta attempted a valiant comeback.  Chase Franklin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) scored at the 8:32 mark and Caden Alkire (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) scored on the very next possession, cutting the Cougar lead to three.  The two team traded goals over the next few minutes, but Chatham seemingly clinched the victory as Broden Zumbano scored with less than three minute left to put the lead at four.  Neal tacked on one more score but the Pioneers could not overcome the margin and would fall to the Cougars, 12-9. 

James Cipollone (Forest Hill, Md./Calvert Hall) worked all 60 minutes in the nets and faced 40 shots, 30 of which were on goal, and also made 18 saves in the game.
 
The Pioneers were led by Neal and Evans with three goals apiece.  Franklin scored a goal and assisted on two others.  Neal also picked up seven groundballs and won 9-of-17 faceoffs.  Alkire added a goal and led the Pioneers with three caused turnovers.
 
Marietta will begin a long road trip this Saturday (Mar. 1) as they travel to Franciscan University.  The matchup is scheduled to begin at 1 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.