MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta men's lacrosse team built a big lead, but had to withstand a strong fourth quarter comeback by Muskingum University Wednesday (April 2) evening, holding on to win in Ohio Athletic Conference men's lacrosse action. The Pioneers improve to 6-5 overall and 1-3 in the OAC. Muskingum falls to 4-8 on the season and 1-3 in the OAC.
 
"This group has been battle-tested and it shows," Marietta head coach Ben Suchomma said. "It's always nice to see some new faces out on the field making some plays. There are a lot of guys showing up every day, working their tails off and I'm glad we got to see them out there tonight. I wish we would have finished the game better but there is always work to do."
 
Marietta came out energized in a game that they had to win if they had hopes for post-season play.  Two Pioneer veterans stepped up as Chase Franklin (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mt. Lebanon) put up the first goal of the game at the 9-minute mark and Nate Neal (Bethel Park, Pa./Bethel Park) followed with a score on the next possession, giving the Pioneers an early lead.  Aiden Evans (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) put up another quick score to add to the advantage.  Muskingum finally got on the board at the 4:47 mark as Tyler Workman slipped a shot by Pioneer goalkeeper James Cipollone (Forest Hill, Md./Calvert Hall), but Marietta led 3-1 going into the second period.
 
The Pioneers got rolling early in the second as Bret Dickerson (Troy, Mich./Troy) won the opening faceoff and marched down the field to get the quick score.  Neal, Evans, and Josh Walters (Cleves, Ohio/Taylor) added scores in the period and the Muskies countered with a pair of scores from Chipper Iacobucci to put the score at 7-3, the Pioneers leading at the half.  
 
Marietta extended the lead in the third period, outscoring the Muskies 6-3 and seemingly putting the game out of reach.  The Pioneers got a pair of man-advantage scores, one from Franklin and one from Logan Podgorski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park), in the opening minutes to extend the lead to six goals.  Tyler Workman slowed the momentum with a score and Grant Webster followed up three minutes later for the Muskies, but the Pioneers tacked on three more scores in the closing minutes and took a 13-6 lead into the final period.
 
After Neal tacked on a score in the opening minute, the Fighting Muskies showed they still had some fight in them.  Muskingum rattled off five consecutive scores, cutting the Pioneer lead to three with less than four minutes remaining.  Marietta finally slowed the Muskingum rally as Podgorski scored at the 2:31 mark and Franklin added an insurance score less than a minute later to, in essence, clinch the victory.  Marietta would go on to claim the 16-12 conference victory.
  
Neal and Franklin led the Pioneers with four goals apiece and Podgorski tacked on another three scores.  Evans and Franklin led with two assists apiece.  Dickerson went 19-for-28 in faceoffs to go along with his one score. Defensively, Barrett Lindell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mariemont) and Jake Stern (Wheeling, W.Va./The Linsly School) each had two caused turnovers.
 
Cipollone started in goal for the Pioneers and faced 12 shots on goal, recording nine saves, but was injured with less than two minutes in the first half.  Ben Millard (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) replaced him in goal and allowed nine goals. He made three saves.
 
Marietta will return to Don Drumm Stadium this Saturday (April 5) to battle Heidelberg University for a 1:00 p.m. faceoff. Before the contest, there will be a special presentation honoring all of the Pioneer senior lacrosse players.
 
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.