MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College men's lacrosse team was defeated by Capital University, 9-4, on Wednesday (March 26) evening.  With the win the Comets improve to 3-5 overall, 1-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, and with the loss the Pioneers are now 5-4 on the season, 0-2 in the OAC.  

Marietta got to the Comets in the first quarter, but could not distance themselves as both teams alternated scores throughout the period.  Aiden Evans (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) quickly got the Pioneers on the board with an unassisted goal, but Mason Spaulding tied it up three minutes later.  Nate Neal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) quickly answered as he put a goal in the net one minute later, but Spaulding tied it up at the 8:02 mark.  Josh Walters (Cleves, Ohio/Taylor) gave the Pioneers the lead yet again with score from a Sam Leininger (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) assist, but the Comets tied it back up in the closing moments of the quarter as Anthony Carusone scored, and both teams took a 3-3 tie into the second period.  
  
Capital stepped up their defensive effort in the second period as they kept Marietta form scoring.  The Pioneers were matching the Comets stride for stride until less than four minutes remaining as Spaulding broke through for the go-ahead score. Capital led 4-3 going into the intermission.
 
Marietta moved quickly to tie as Chase Franklin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) put in a score in the opening minute, but Capital would keep Marietta out of the nets for the rest of the period.  The Comets finally stepped up the pressure and scored four goals, two from Jacob Poole and two from Colton Woods, to take firm control of the contest.  Spaulding would tack on another late final period score and the Comets would go on to win, 9-4.
 
James Cippollone played all 60 minutes in the nets and did what he could to defend against the Capital attack.  He faced 28 shots on goal and made 19 saves.

Neal won 5-of-12 faceoffs and picked up six groundballs to lead the Pioneers.

Marietta will return to the field this Saturday (March 29) when they travel to battle Ohio Northern University, with the game 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.