TIFFIN, Ohio – The Marietta College men's lacrosse team got off to a strong start but had to hold on to earn an impressive 13-9 conference victory over Heidelberg University on Saturday (Mar. 28) afternoon.  With the win the Pioneers improve to 5-5 overall and 1-3 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, and with the loss the Student Princes fall to 4-6 overall and 0-3 in the OAC.  
 
"It feels good to get back in the win column today," said Marietta head coach Nathan Grover. "It was a scrappy game that took some mental toughness and execution in the second half to earn the result we wanted!  As a young team, we still have to learn from this game and continue to improve for the rest of OAC play, but it does feel good to get the first OAC win of the season!"
  
The Pioneers started strong, scoring just three minutes into the game when Ryan Kenney (Edgemere, Md./Archbishop Curley) converted a pass from Jeff McKnight (Port Republic, Va./Ignite Christian Academy). They quickly doubled their lead with a goal from Thomas Zerman (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South), assisted by Alec Anderson (Loveland, Ohio/Little Miami). Although held scoreless for the rest of the first period, Marietta's defense and goalkeeper Cal Henthorne (Wooster, Ohio/St. Edward) kept the Student Princes off the board, with Henthorne saving both shots on goal. Marietta led 2-0 after the first quarter.
 
The second period saw a back-and-forth battle. Heidelberg's Rayce Septor scored twice, knotting the game at two. Cannon Fox (New Concord, Ohio/John Glenn) put the Pioneers back on top, but the Student Princes quickly answered. Sam Leininger (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) gave Marietta the lead again, only for Heidelberg to immediately tie it. Malachai Davis scored for Heidelberg with about a minute left, leaving the score tied at four heading into halftime.
 
The trend continued into the third quarter. McKnight scored off an Anderson assist four minutes in, but Heidelberg's Mario Manzardo countered with a man-advantage goal to tie it once more. Marietta then broke the tie for good with an unassisted goal from McKnight. This sparked a run, with Danner Dorothy (West Stockholm, N.Y./Potsdam Central) and Leininger adding quick goals to extend the lead to three. Anderson capped the period with another goal, giving Marietta a commanding 9-5 lead going into the final quarter.
 
Donovan Masters (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) scored for the Pioneers at the 10:23 mark of the fourth, seemingly putting the game out of reach. However, Heidelberg mounted a late surge as Malachai Davis netted a trio of goals in a three-minute span, cutting the deficit to two. Marietta's defense shut down Heidelberg for the remainder of the game and added insurance goals from McKnight and Fox, securing a 13-9 conference victory.

Henthorne got the start in the nets for the Pioneers and worked the first half.  He faced seven shots on goal and saved three.  Jack Kelly (Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop McNicholas) played the second and earned the victory in relief for the Pioneers.  He faced 10 shots on goal and made five saves.
 
McKnight led with three goals and added an assist for four points on the afternoon.  Leininger and Fox each scored two goals apiece.  Anderson led the team with three assists.  Bret Dickerson (Troy, Mich./Troy) dominated as he won 20-of-24 faceoffs and led the team with 11 groundballs.   

Marietta will return to Marietta Field Tuesday (Mar. 31) for an OAC matchup with Muskingum University.  The match is scheduled to begin at 7 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.