MARYVILLE, Tennessee — Marietta College scored three unanswered goals to come from behind and defeat Piedmont University in men's soccer action on Sunday (Sept. 5) afternoon. The Pioneers improve to 2-0-1 on the season. Piedmont falls to 0-3-0 overall.
"Today tested us. We were coming off a short rest after last night and playing a team that can score. The test started out less than stellar as we got behind early 2-0," Marietta head coach
Joe Bergin said. "Getting one back before the break boosted our spirits and we persevered thru all the weather breaks in the second half to get two more. The team is showing the staff they have something different than recent teams of ours. We will be tested again this week with two more road games, but this team is ready for them."
The Pioneers found themselves in an early hole as Piedmont struck for two quick goals in the opening minutes of the match. Mason Keth scored off an assist from Edwin Sosa-Reyes in the fourth minute. Three minutes later, Donovan Razo Becker found the back of the net with an assist from Nico Serna.
Marietta controlled the ball for much of the half and got on the board in the 15th minute.
Zach Kern (Rocky River, Ohio/Rocky River) scored the first of his two goals on the day off an assist from
Joey Pinkerton (Point Pleasant, W.Va./Point Pleasant). Kern leveled the match less than three minutes into the second half with an unassisted goal. His third goal of the season.
Both teams struggled to get into any rhythm in the second as the match was stopped several times due to the extreme heat. After an extended stoppage due to the humidity reading,
Gavin Heighberger (Lagrange, Ohio/Elyria) got a shot off inside the box for the game winner. Pat Williams and
Eli Swirsky (Solon, Ohio/Gilmour Academy) assisted on the clinching goal.
After surrendering the two early goals, Marietta's defense clamped down on the Lions and held Piedmont to just two more shots on goal.
Noah Walker (Export, Pa./Franklin Regional) went the distance in goal for the Pioneers and recorded a pair of saves. Jean Franco Loria had five saves in net for the Lions.
Marietta plays at Franciscan University on Wednesday (Sept. 9) at 7:00 p.m.
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.
