Men’s soccer tops Marietta in home opener, improves to 3-1

BLYTHE DAHLEM, Special to The Denisonian —In a close 2-1 victory, the men’s soccer team defeated Marietta College in their home opener.

The team went into the game following a 10-0 shutout victory over Penn State-Altoona.

The game started off with the Big Red dominating both halves of the pitch. The offense came out strong in the first half with Denison recording the first five shots of the contest. The Pioneers began their offensive push immediately afterward with four consecutive shots on junior goalkeeper Dylan Brown.

The scoring was finally opened up in the 37^th minute by Luis Zamora ’20, who sat out last season with an injury, off a beautiful assist from Pierre De La Croix-Vaubois ’23. Zamora was elated to start off his senior season with a goal. 

“Having spent the entirety of last season out injured and having surgery again in December, it was amazing to score 5 minutes into my senior debut. It also proved to myself that I still have more to give to this program,” said Zamora.

The Big Red took their 1-0 lead into the second half, but their offense was not done yet. In the 49^th minute, Leo Herard ’23 had his cross headed into the back of the net by Matt Rush ’21. Here’s what Senior Luis Zamora had to say about their start to the second half.

“Going into the second half, our number one priority was to dominate the first 10 minutes. Although we struggled to do that, we scored a great goal and gave us more of a cushion.” 

The struggle to dominate the start of the second half began immediately after that, with Marietta getting nine shots off and having four corner kicks. Dylan Brown ’21 showed his prowess in net by stopping almost anything thrown his way. The Pioneers narrowed the lead in the 85^th minute after scoring on a free kick, but the defense was determined to shut down Marietta’s offense. 

The Pioneers were fouled inside the box in the 87^th minute, giving Brown the challenge of saving a Penalty shot. Brown rose to the occasion, making a fantastic save that continued to preserve the Big Red’s lead. The junior goalkeeper tallied 9 saves in Denison’s victory over Marietta.

The Big Red’s record improved to 2-1 after securing this victory in their home-opener.

The team continued their impressive form just two days later when they triumphed by a score of 2-1 yet again in a road matchup with the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets.

After three consecutive wins, the Big Red will bring their 3-1 record into play on Wednesday, September 11 on the road against the 3-0 Capital Crusaders.