Mount Vernon, Ohio - The Marian men's soccer team played from behind throughout the evening in the shot count and on the scoreboard, and were unable to hang onto a draw as Mount Vernon scored the game-winning goal in a 2-1 contest in the 88th minute. Marian's loss drops them to 4-7-2 overall and 1-3-1 in league play.
Mount Vernon Nazarene dominated the first half of Wednesday's league match, as the Cougars controlled possession throughout the first 45 minutes. MVNU took the game's first shot attempt in the fifth minute, and answered with another attempt on goal in the eighth minute that was denied by Brendan Weiger. The offense began to flow minutes later as Marian was able to gett off their first shot of the game coming on a Kyle Alb header off a corner piece, but the rookie's shot sailed high.
MVNU kept their attack going as Sam Hershey and Keon Boney attacked the net, forcing Weiger and his defense to make stops to keep the game scoreless. Weiger and company would stave off four corner kicks and six shot attempts over the final 21 minutes of the first half, as the Knights were able to hold and go into halftime scoreless. Evan Dawdy would pick up Marian's only other shot attempt of the half, taking his strike on frame in the 30th minute that landed in Josh Dunn's hands and out of play.
After out-shooting Marian 10-2 in the first half, the Cougars continued to press and attack in the opening five minutes of the second act. Two yellow cards for Marian led to free kick opportunities, once again forcing Weiger to make a number of stops. The Knights offense was held in check through the half's opening 25 minutes, as Mount Vernon smothered any free run. After a yellow card on Sam Goodin in the 71st minute, Mount Vernon cashed in on a free kick, getting the game's first goal from Aaron Jolly off a Ryan Walters pass.
Trailing 1-0, Marian changed their attack and started finding runs, getting called for an offsides as they attempted to get the offense moving. A shot from Alb deflected out of play off the keeper Dunn, and in the 78th minute Marian found their moment on a Nate Van Keulen corner kick. Van Keulen set a perfect pass in play, and connected with the head of Justin Kapp, who leveled the score 1-1 with his third goal of the season. Marian would try to keep the offensive going, but had to switch back on defense as Mount Vernon controlled possession.
In the final 10 minutes of the match, the Cougars swould take three shot attempts as their intensity picked up, playing through the whistle as they were charged with four fouls and a yellow card. Mount Vernon's aggression paid off in the 88th minute, as Jolly was able to connect with Tiago DeJesus for the game-winning goal. Marian would only manage a corner kick in the final 2:35, as the late goal stole three points from the Knights in the 2-1 defeat.
Marian manged just four shots in the game, getting two from Alb. Kapp had one of the three shots on goal with his header connecting for the Knights lone score, while Van Keulen earned his fifth assist of the season. Weiger was charged with the loss in net as his record shifts to 4-5-2, making five saves as he played the full 90 minutes.
Marian will return to Indianapolis for their second home contest of the Crossroads League season on Saturday, as they take on Huntington at 3 p.m.
MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.
