MARIETTA, Ohio — Despite some impressive individual performances in the 2025 season, the Marietta College men's soccer team still concluded the year with a 5-12-2 overall record and 2-6 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta head coach Joe Bergin, although excited for the new season to kick off, recognizes that "last year was clearly not where we want to be" and will try to correct the issues and forge forward with a strong mix of talented returners and newcomers.

"We had some bright spots, but we experienced our fair share of hard times last season," said Bergin. "I am hopeful that the returners learn from those hard times and the new players pay heed to the returners' experience to get ourselves back into the OAC playoff conversation."

Replacing last season's top scorer in the league is the team's most pressing priority. Parker Bolin (Albany, Ohio/Alexander) set a new Marietta College single-season record and led the OAC with 19 goals. To address this offensive gap, Bergin anticipates multiple Pioneers stepping up, with senior Gavin Heighberger (Lagrange, Ohio/Elyria) and junior Zach Kern (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) expected to lead the effort.

As the leading active scorer on the roster and a former OAC Freshman of the Year, Heighberger — who also led the team with five assists last season — has proven his ability to take control of a game. Meanwhile, Kern is poised to make a major impact following a notable campaign in which he played in every match, earned nine starts, and took the fifth-most shots on the team.

"We have some huge shoes to fill on the offensive end," said Bergin. "Replacing Parker (Bolin) can't be done by one person. It will be by committee, and I am hopeful that Gavin (Heighberger) and Zach (Kern) lead the way there."

Coach Bergin will also look to improve a defensive squad that gave up the second-most goals in the conference. Returning to anchor the Pioneer back line is senior Pat Williamson (Hove, Sussex, United KIngdom/Cardinal Newman), who started every game for Marietta in 2025. Look for contributions from senior Ben Beckman (Columbus, Ohio/The Wellington School) and sophomores Jaren Reed (Gallipolis, Ohio/Point Pleasant) and Teo Holliman (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Grandview Heights) to help create an enhanced Pioneer defense.

"The defense has to improve for us to win more games this year," said Bergin. "Our young guys have more experience and that certainly will help, but guys like seniors Williamson and Beckman need to have a big year for us to leak less goals than we did last year."

Coach Bergin has not yet decided on the starting goalkeeper for the opening match, as the Pioneers feature a strong group at the position. Sophomore Noah Walker (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) earned most of the playing time last season and delivered an impressive performance, ranking second in the OAC with 5.5 saves per game. Meanwhile, senior Andrew Stein (Wilmington, N.C./Hoggard) is pushing hard for the starting role after sitting out last year due to injury.

"It's been a dogfight to see who gets the starting nod in the first game," said Bergin. "All of them are capable of starting and we will not go with just one the whole year.  We nearly ran Noah (Walker) into the ground last year."

Marietta opens the season on the blue turf of Marietta Field on Tuesday (Sept. 1).  The men will play in the front half of soccer doubleheader and will battle Geneva College with a scheduled start time of 4:30 p.m.

"For us, 2025 was not good," concluded Bergin.  "We have been committed during last spring and now in camp, to getting ourselves back on track. But that means very little if we don't do our jobs.  Luckily, we have a strong returning core that will be helped with some potentially effective freshman additions."

Fans can follow all 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.