Written by: Zachary Worstell (zdw001@marietta.edu)
The Marietta College Men’s Soccer team’s season has come to an end. The Pioneers were able to end their season with a win, however, they were not able to clinch a spot in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) tournament. Overall, the team finished with a record of 6-10-2, two losses less than last season.
The soccer season opened up with a home field weekend against two Pennsylvania schools. The season opener came on August 30th with a 0-1 loss to Chatham University. Fortunately, the Pios were able to bounce back on September 1st with a 1-0-win against Washington & Jefferson.
The following weekend marked the Pioneers first road trip of the season. They traveled to Virginia for face Eastern Mennonite University and Bridgewater College. The Pios came off to a hot start shutting out Eastern Mennonite 2-0, but the following day they lost 1-4 to Bridgewater.
The Pioneers continued their road series with an 0-2 loss to Franciscan University before they traveled back to Virginia. In Roanoke, Marietta found themselves facing 15th ranked Roanoke College. In this matchup neither team was able to score as the match ended in a 0-0 tie. Their last matchup in their road series came against Case Western Reserve University where the Spartans defeated the Pioneers 2-0.
Marietta came back home for their last few non-conference games before they head into the trenches of their OAC matchups. Marietta started off with a 2-0 win over Allegheny College during the Pios Alumni BBQ. The following week the Pioneers saw their toughest loss being outscored 7-0 by Carnegie Mellon University. At this point Marietta finished with a 3-5-1 non-conference record this season.
Moving onto the OAC matchups, the Pios began at home against #25 ranked Ohio Northern. In the end, the Polar Bears pulled off a 1-0 victory. This match was followed by a 4-0 loss to Otterbein. Marietta was able to comeback with a 2-0 victory in Tiffin against Heidelberg. However, after their first conference win, Marietta continued to struggle on the road by dropping losses to Capital and John Carroll. Heading back home, the Pioneers secured a 4-0 win over Muskingum and fought Baldwin Wallace to a tie. After marking their second tie of the season, Marietta dropped a road loss to Mount Union. With that loss, came the final matchup of the season, Senior Day against Wilmington. Here, the Pios finished strong, scoring two goals in the second and allowing one late in the game for a 2-1 victory.
Lee Miller became a leader for the team this year as he was Marietta’s points leader with 9. This season Miller scored 7 goals and an assist amounting a career high for himself. Sophomore Gavin Heighberger was second in points with 8 including three goals and two assists. Heighberger has acted as a consisted part of Marietta’s offense as he had a strong freshmen year as well with 12 points.
Marietta’s starting Goalkeeper had his best season. Senior, Captain Joey Backhaus, finished with a 0.771 save percentage and allowed and average of 1.63 goals per game. This is improved from his 0.663 save percentage and 2.02 goals per game last year. He also had a career high three shut outs this season.
Overall, the Marietta team has been improving over the past few years, and next season they may be a team to look out for in the OAC. Their average attendance has been higher than that of their opponents this season, and with the crowd behind them, the Pioneers hope to make a tournament appearance in 2025.
