Marietta men's soccer earns key 3-1 road victory at Wilmington
Pioneers take sole possession of fourth place in the OAC with 3-2-1 league record

Oct. 22, 2008
WILMINGTON, Ohio — Marietta College junior forward Kyle Muth (Twinsburg) and senior defender Dan Cawley (Marietta) teamed up for two goals to lead Head Coach Pat Holguin's men's soccer team to a 3-1 Ohio Athletic Conference road victory over host Wilmington College on Wednesday (Oct. 22) night.

The win improved Marietta's record to 8-4-3 overall and 3-2-1 in the OAC. The Pioneers, who now sit alone in fourth place with 10 points and three games to play, kept pace with the top three schools in the Conference standings who also won on Wednesday. The Quakers fell to 9-6-1 overall and 2-3-1 in league play.

Both teams finished with 16 total shots, while the Pioneers held an 8-6 advantage in shots on goal in the game. Wilmington led 5-2 in corner kicks.

Marietta jumped ahead 1-0 in the 12th minute. Senior midfielder Drew Craig (Slippery Rock, Pa.) beat the keeper to the near post with a shot following a pass from senior forward Seita Kawamoto (Ebina, Kanagaua, Japan). The goal was Craig's first of the year, while Kawamoto picked up his second career assist.

Wilmington fought back to tie the game at 1-1 in the 52nd minute. Nick Kinder scored the goal after receiving a cross from teammate Anthony Montgomery.

The Pioneers regained the lead for good minutes later. Muth beat the keeper to an opening inside the far post in the 56th minute. Cawley handed out his fourth assist of the season on the play. The duo then hooked up again 41 seconds later to give Marietta a 3-1 lead. This time, Cawley found the head of Muth, who shot it past the keeper for his team-leading ninth goal of the year. Cawley now leads the squad with five assists in 2008.

Senior goalkeeper Steve Hagenau (Clearwater, Fla./Central Catholic) collected five saves in the victory, which increased his record between the posts to 8-3-1. Aaron Slusher also had five saves for Wilmington.

Marietta will look to climb further up the OAC standings when the Pioneers travel to Berea on Saturday (Oct. 25) for a 7:30 p.m. match-up with host Baldwin-Wallace College.