WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Marietta College men's lacrosse team finished the home portion of the schedule with a strong 13-7 victory over Wilmington College on Saturday (April 11) afternoon. With the win the Pioneers improve to 6-8 overall and 2-4 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. With the loss the Quakers fall to 4-8 overall and 0-5 in the OAC.
"Today was a great team win and a great way to honor our senior class on senior day," said Marietta head coach
Nathan Grover. "It felt good to get another win at home this season!"
Before the matchup began, the Pioneers celebrated their six Senior players. Nathan Hamliton,
Bret Dickerson (Troy, Mich./Troy),
Thomas Zerman (Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South),
Alan Schwab (Meadville, Pa./Meadville),
Barrett Lindell (Cincinnati, Ohio/Mariemont), and
Jacob Grube (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis Desales) were all celebrated for their Pioneers careers. Nick Bender, who has worked the season as the Student Assistant Coach was also recognized before the game.
"This senior class has been incredibly influential to the program here at Marietta," said Grover of his seniors. "They embody what it truly means to be a member of the Marietta Lacrosse team, and their special legacy will be forever remembered within our program!"
It took some time for either team to get established, but Marietta struck first at the 8:50 mark as
Jeff McKnight (Port Republic, Va./Ignite Christian Academy) scored off an assist from
Alec Anderson (Loveland, Ohio/Little Miami). Wilmington answered immediately on the next possession as Danny Fitzpatrick scored an unassisted goal to tie it up. The Quakers took the lead three minutes later as Brandon Osbourne scored unassisted, but Marietta tied it with less than two minutes in the period as
Sam Leininger (Avon Lake, Ohio/Avon Lake) got a goal. Both teams were tied at two heading into the second quarter.
Marietta controlled the second period as they added five more goals and held the Quakers to only one tally. McKnight found the nets three times and assisted Zerman on a score midway through the period. Bryce Lotpeich then scored a breakaway goal at the 3:48 mark and Marietta went into intermission with a 7-3 lead.
The Pioneers lit up the nets quickly to begin the third period as Leininger and
Tommy Imhof (Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) provided scores to push the advantage to six scores. After the Quakers finally got back on the board, Marietta got a score from Hamilton from an assist from Imhof with three minutes remaining in the period. Marietta took a 10-5 lead into the final stanza.
The Pioneers added three more scores in the fourth quarter, getting goals from Zerman,
Cannon Fox (New Concord, Ohio/John Glenn), and
Donovan Masters (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) and cruised to the 13-7 conference victory.
Cal Henthorne (Wooster, Ohio/St. Edward) got the start in the nets and played the first half. He faced 10 shots on goal and made seven saves, earning the victory.
Jack Kelly (Cincinnati, Ohio/Archbishop McNicholas) played the second half and faced six shots on goal, making two saves.
McKnight led the way with four goals, with Zerman and Leininger adding two goals apiece. Imhof and Anderson led the Pioneers with two assists apiece. Dickerson went 11-for-19 in faceoffs in his final home game.
Caden Alkire (Ellicott City, Md./Centennial) led the team with six groundballs. Hamilton and Schwab each had a caused turnover.
The Pioneers will take to the road this Wednesday (April 15) to battle the University of Mount Union, with the game scheduled to begin at 5 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.
