Marietta men’s soccer visits top-seeded Capital Wednesday in OAC Semifinal
Spot in OAC Tournament Final on the line when teams kickoff at 2 p.m.

Nov. 4, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio —The fourth-seeded Marietta College men's soccer team, fresh of its 4-1 victory over fifth-seeded Heidelberg College in Monday (Nov. 3) afternoon's OAC Tournament Quarterfinal, turns its attention to top-seeded Capital University Wednesday (Nov. 5) afternoon at 2 p.m. with a berth into Saturday (Nov. 8) afternoon's finals on the line. Second-seeded John Carroll University will host third-seeded Ohio Northern University in the other OAC Semifinal on Wednesday at 2 p.m.

Live statistics of the OAC Semifinal game will be available at http://capital2.capital.edu/admin-staff/ncarver/athletics/MSOC/xlive.htm. In addition, WMOA-AM 1490 is slated to broadcast the match live locally in Marietta and online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.

Marietta (10-6-3), led by 11th-year Head Coach Patrick Holguin, is making its third OAC Tournament appearance in school history, having qualified in 1997 and 2007. The Pioneers, who until Monday had never hosted a Conference playoff game, improved to 1-2 all-time in the OAC Tournament with its win over Heidelberg at Marietta Field.

The Pioneers struck early against the Student Princes to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon. Senior midfielder Jack Dunn (Aurora/University) hit a shot wide of the keeper but not on goal in the third minute. Senior forward Seita Kawamoto (Ebina, Kanagaua, Japan) tracked down the loose ball and passed it back to junior forward Kyle Muth (Twinsburg), who put it away for his 10th goal of the season.

Dunn did not miss on his next attempt in the 10th minute. Marietta took advantage in transition with a three-on-one against the Heidelberg keeper. With Kawamoto applying pressure in the middle, Muth crossed a ball through the box to Dunn, who finished the play with a goal, his fourth of the year.

Heidelberg battled back to within a goal, 2-1, in the 27th minute. Marietta, however, answered before halftime with its third goal of the game in the 35th minute. Kawamoto found the foot of Dunn on a throw in and Dunn sent a low shot past a diving keeper from 35-yards away and into the back of the net. It was his second goal of the game and fifth of the year.

The Pioneers added an insurance goal in the 70th minute. Senior tri-captain Kyle Blankenship (Galloway/Hilliard Darby) set up the score with a thru ball to Muth. Muth juked the keeper, who came out to defend the play, and slipped the ball inside the near post from 10-yards out for the goal, his team-leading 11th of the season.

Marietta out-shot Heidelberg 21-18, including 13-11 in shots on goal, in the victory. The Pioneers also held a 6-3 edge in corner kicks. Senior keeper Steve Hagenau (Clearwater, Fla./Central Catholic) made eight saves and allowed one goal in the first 77:42 before giving way to classmate Tad Cochran (Westerville/Worthington Christian), who made two saves, for the final 12:18.

Marietta enters averaging 2.11 goals while giving up an average of 1.56 goals this fall. Muth now paces the team with 26 total points, having scored 11 goals and added four 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 Dunn and Kawamoto have both 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 29 goals (1.67 GAA) and made 77 saves with one shutout in 1,566 minutes between the posts.

Capital (13-4-1), under the leadership of ninth-year coach Dwight Burgess, earned a bye in the first round of the OAC Tournament after capturing their fourth regular season title. The Crusaders are making their fifth OAC Tournament appearance, having previously qualified in 1992 and 2005-07. Capital is 1-4 all-time in tournament play. Last year the top-seeded Crusaders defeated fourth-seeded Ohio Northern University 4-3 in the OAC Semifinals before falling to third-seeded John Carroll University 2-1 in double overtime in the finals.

Capital enters averaging 2.76 goals while allowing an average of 1.27 goals in 2008. Steven McCarthy finished the regular season as the OAC leader in both goals (15) and points (35). Teammates Josh Thaboune and Joey Snyder have both contributed seven goals, while Daniel McCarthy and Tyler Mowbray have added four goals this season. John Snyder is the Crusader's primary goalkeeper. He has allowed 17 goals (1.49 GAA) and made 66 saves in 1025 minutes in net this year.

Capital won the regular season meeting between the two teams 4-3 in double overtime on Oct. 18 in Columbus. The Pioneers found themselves down 1-0 midway through the second minute when S. McCarthy finished a loose ball in front of the box for the Capital goal.

Muth tied the game in the 19th minute. McDonald assisted the goal with a feed forward, leading to the breakaway goal. McCarthy added his second goal of the game in the 37th minute to give Capital back the lead 2-1. This time, he scored off a rebound from the keeper.

Kawamoto knotted the game at 2-2 with a score in the 72nd minute. He received a pass from the left side of the box from senior teammate Drew Craig (Slippery Rock, Pa.) and beat the keeper with a shot in front of the goal. Marietta took its first lead of the day minutes later when Adedapo scored. Dunn set up the goal with a pass from the corner to the left corner of the box, and Adedapo finished with a low shot past the defense and into the back of the net at the 75:27 mark.

Capital fought back to tie the game at 3-3 in the 79th minute when D. McCarthy scored a goal on free kick from just outside the box that found an opening inside the far post. The score remained locked at 3-3 through the first overtime and until the 108th minute when S. McCarthy scored his third goal of the match. Lewis Black was able to redirect a ball in the box to the head of McCarthy, who beat the keeper for the game-winner.

Marietta out-shot Capital 26-24 overall and both teams had 12 shots on goal. Hagenau finished with eight saves in the loss, while Snyder had nine saves in the win.