Oakland City, Ind. - The Marian men's soccer team suffered their second consecutive defeat Wedensday afternoon, as Oakland City defeated teh Knights 2-0. The mid-week defeat drops Marian to 3-3-1 overall on the season.
The Knights got out to a sluggish start, as Oakland City controlled possession for the vast majority of the opening 20 minutes. Marian was able to muster the first shot of the game off a boot by David Green in the 13th minute, but the Mighty Oaks took possession back and went on a charge. In the 16th minutes, Sergio Revuelta dribbled off a screen and took a controlled shot on frame, sending his boot through three defenders and the outstretched arms of Alvaro Rueda for the opening goal.
The floodgates opened for Oakland City after seeing the first goal go through, as the home team ripped off four shots in the next six minutes of play. In the 26th minute, Oakland City won a ball deep in Marian's defensive territory, and were able to string together five passes, including three inside of 10 yards, resulting in a Carlos Juarez goal. The Knights would manage a pair of shot attempts before the half closed, but neitehr were strong enough to go past the keeper, as Oakland City maintained a 2-0 advantage at intermission. Oakland City held an 8-4 lead in shots in the first half, with five looks coming on goal.
Marian was unable to get their offense going in the second half, as they mustered just three shot attempts in the final 45 minutes. Oakland City continued to hold possession, and took the first two shot attempts of the half. Jalen Rice took Marian's first shot of the period in the 81st minute, while the only attempt on goal in the period came from Justin Kapp in the 90th minute, as the Mighty Oaks defense was too strong for Marian to break through. Failing to score, Marian ending the match in a 2-0 defeat.
Rueda made his first start as a Knight, taking the loss in the match allowing two goals on eight shots. The Knights keeper made six saves in his defeat. Green took two of Marian's seven shot attempts, while Kapp and Felipe Prado had the only attempts on goal in the game for the visitors.
Marian will finish their non-conference stretch on Saturday night, as they travel to No. 24 Rio Grande for a 7 p.m. contest.
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