Oct. 26, 2006

Fall sports: coming to a close

MATTIE UNGER
ungerm@marietta.edu

Fall sports are coming to the conclusion of their 2006 seasons. The struggle to finish the season strong plagues most teams. The months of hard work, tough practices, and intense games start to wear on the players. Despite all of that, the Pioneers of Marietta have refused to let exhaustion hinder their ability at the close of their seasons.

Football proved sports critics wrong this past weekend as they defeated No. 20 Ohio Northern. The Pioneers upset the Polar Bears 16-6. Clearly, the four hour trip to Ada, OH did not phase players as they took a 7-3 lead by the head of the first quarter. The score remained there as both teams were scoreless in the second and third quarters.

However, the Pios pushed hard in the fourth quarter and advanced their lead to secure Marietta’s third OAC win of the season.

Senior quarterback Jason Vrable connected with senior wide receiver Jason Curry and junior wide receiver Chad McDaniel on the two Pioneer touchdowns.

Also, junior kicker Pat Lane was successful on his field goal attempt during the final minutes of the game. The football team will return to Don Drumm Stadium this Saturday, Oct. 28. They will take on the Heidelberg Student Princes at 6 p.m.

Volleyball continues to improve their record and make a statement in the OAC. Coming off a devastating loss to Mount Union on Tuesday, Oct. 17, the Lady Pioneers were focused for their following conference match against Heidelberg. After honoring the team’s seniors, the Pios took the court with the intention of leaving the floor with a win. They dominated from point one and took the match in four games (30-20, 21-30, 30-27, 30-20). The win improved the Pioneers to 3- 4 in the OAC and 19-5 overall.

Following the Heidelberg match, the Lady Pios competed against Urbana in their final non-conference match of the season. Unfortunately for Marietta, Urbana out-played the Pioneers and took the match in three games. This put the Volleyball team at 19-6 overall, a respectable record.

The weekend showed strong performances from seniors Ellen Doolittle and Paige Burton. Doolittle broke Marietta’s school record for career blocks. She presently has 451 blocks and should add to that in her final matches as a Pioneer. Burton collected 27 kills and 24 digs against Heidelberg and Urbana. Volleyball will close their regular season tomorrow during their final conference match against John Carroll. The match is set for 7 p.m. at JCU.

Men’s soccer was unfortunately unable to fend off the Student Princes of Heidelberg this past weekend. They fell to the Berg 3-1. Sophomore Brad Baweja scored Marietta’s lone goal. Despite being unable to pick up any conference wins thus far, the Pioneers will have a final chance to make their mark in the OAC this Saturday against John Carroll. The game will be at JCU and will start at 7 p.m.

Women’s soccer was able to improve their record thanks to a shutout against Heidelberg last Saturday. During the 33rd minute, junior Marianne Siders scored Marietta’s first of four goals against the Student Princes. Siders’s goal was followed with goals by juniors Vanessa Nicholls and Colby Cardwell, and freshman Rachel Ladouceur.

The win brought Marietta’s record to 3- 2-2 in the OAC. They are currently ranked 6th in the conference. Their final game of the season is Saturday, Oct. 28. The game will commence at 12 p.m. on Marietta Field.