Heidelberg Closes Out Season in OAC Quarterfinals

In quarterfinal action of the 2008 Ohio Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Tournament number four seeded Marietta College upended number five seed Heidelberg College, 4-1. By virtue of the higher seed the game was played at Marietta Field on the campus of Marietta.
 
The Berg, under the guidance of 20th-year head coach Brian Haley, were playing in their 11th, second-consecutive, OAC Tournament and close out the year at 7-11-2. Marietta reaches the semifinal round with an overall record of 10-6-3.
 
Marietta scored two early goals, the first coming in the third minute by Kyle Muth. Jack Dunn added a second goal, the eventual game-winning goal, just under 10 minutes into the contest.
 
Heidelberg cut its deficit in half when sophomore midfielder Gavin McCarthy (Hilliard, Ohio / Hilliard Darby) bent a shot around Marietta’s goalkeeper Steve Hagenau from 35 yards out in the 27th minute. McCarthy’s goal was the first of his career. Setting McCarthy up was senior Brian Juart (Hilliard, Ohio / Hilliard Darby). Juart recorded his second assist on the season. The first half scoring was not done as Dunn added his second goal on the day in the 35th minute.
 
In the second half Heidelberg outshot the host Pioneers 12-7, but could not find the back of the net. Marietta, however, snuck a fourth goal between the pipes in the 70th minute by Muth to push the final score to 4-1.
 
For the game, Marietta held a slim 21-18 advantage in shots and had six corner kicks compared to just three by the Berg. Heidelberg’s Brian Benson (Bay Village, Ohio / Bay) played the entire 90:00 minutes in goal, picking up eight saves. Hagenau and Thaddeus Cochran combined to play between the pipes for Marietta and finished with 10 saves.
 
Heidelberg will lose seven players to graduation including Benson, Juart, Brad Howell (Lexington, Ohio / Lexington), Raul Mendez (Mexico City, Mexico / Green Hills), Billy Banks (Hampton, Pa. / Hampton), Craig Watkinson (Rotherham Yorkshire, England / Thomas Danby) and Logan Camin (Beachwood, Ohio / Beachwood).