Marietta to host Heidelberg in OAC Men's Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal Monday at 2 p.m.
Teams tied 1-1 in regular season meeting

Nov. 2, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta Field with be the site of Monday (Nov. 3) afternoon's Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Men’s Soccer Tournament Quarterfinal match-up between rivals Heidelberg College and host Marietta College. The Pioneers enter as the fourth seed after finishing the regular season 9-6-3 overall and 4-4-1 in league play. The Student Princes are the fifth seed. They come in with a 7-10-2 record, having also finished 4-4-1 in the OAC.

Action begins at 2 p.m. Admission will be charged for Monday’s game and all OAC Tournament contests. Ticket prices are $5 for adults and $2 for non-OAC students. OAC students will be admitted free with a valid identification. OAC Lifetime Passes will also be honored. Live statistics will be available at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/livestats/xlive.htm.

Capital University captured the regular season title and the top seed in the 2008 OAC Tournament. John Carroll University is the second seed. Both the Crusaders and Blue Streaks earned a bye in the first round and await the winners of the two quarterfinal games. The other first round match-up pits sixth-seeded Muskingum College at third-seeded Ohio Northern University. That game will take place today in Ada, Ohio, at 2 p.m. On Wednesday (Nov. 5), Capital will take on the winner of the Marietta and Heidelberg game, while John Carroll will play the winner of the Ohio Northern and Muskingum contest.

Marietta, led by 11th-year Head Coach Patrick Holguin, is making its third OAC Tournament appearance in school history. The Pioneers, who are 0-2 in OAC Tournament games, fell as the third seed to second-seeded John Carroll 1-0 in 1997. Marietta’s only other appearance came last year when the sixth-seeded squad fell to third-seeded John Carroll 2-1. This is the first time that the Pioneers have hosted an OAC Tournament game.

Marietta enters averaging 2.01 goals, while allowing an average of 1.59 goals in 2008. Junior forward Kyle Muth (Twinsburg) leads Marietta in points with 21. He has scored a career-best nine goals and added three assists in 2008. Junior midfielder Deric McDonald (Vienna, W.Va./Parkersburg) and junior defender Delè Adedapo (Gahanna/Bexley) both enter having scored eight goals, while senior forward Seita Kawamoto (Ebina, Kanagaua, Japan) has added five goals this season. Senior goalkeeper Steve Hagenau (Clearwater, Fla./Central Catholic) is the team’s main man in front of the net. He has allowed 28 goals (1.69 GAA) and made 69 saves with one shutout in 1,489 minutes between the posts.

Heidelberg, under the helm of 20th-year Head Coach Brian Haley, is making its 11th OAC Tournament appearance, having participated in the tournament in 1993-96, 1998-2002 and 2007. The Student Princes are 2-9-1 all-time in OAC Tournament action, having finished runner-up in both 1995 and 1998. Only John Carroll has qualified for the OAC Tournament more often than Heidelberg. In 2007, second-seeded Heidelberg fell 2-1 to third-seeded John Carroll in overtime of the semifinal game.

Heidelberg is averaging 1.32 goals, while giving up an average of 2.23 goals in 2008. Freshman midfielder Brian Juart (Hilliard/Hilliard Darby) lead the Student Princes with a team-best six goals and 13 points. Sophomore forwards Mike Harling (Rochdale, England/Holy Cross) and Cory Buhrman (Brunswick) have both contributed five goals this season. Harling has added two assists to give him 12 points, while Buhrman has one assists and 11 points. Senior midfielder Raul Mendez (Mexico City, Mexico/Green Hills) is tied with Harling for the team lead in assists with two. Senior Brian Benson (Bay Village/Bay) has worked all 1659 minutes in goal for Heidelberg. Benson has allowed 41 goals (2.23 GAA) and made 106 saves with three shutouts in 2008.

The two OAC rivals battled to a 1-1 tie in their meeting during the regular season on Oct. 4. Both goals were scored within the first 12 minutes of the match. Marietta’s McDonald finished a ball inside the six-yard box off a corner kick taken by senior midfielder Jack Dunn (Aurora/University) at the 9:22 mark. Heidelberg responded at the 11:57 mark when Juart hit a shot on the ground from 20-yards out that caromed off the far post to even the score at 1-1. Marietta had the better of the possession and shots in the 110-minute game. The Pioneers out-shot the Student Princes 29-16 overall and 10-6 in shots on goal. Marietta’s Hagenau finished the day with five saves, while Benson had nine saves for Heidelberg.