INDIANAPOLIS - Backed by three different goal scorers and a pair of second half goals, the Marian men's soccer team picked up three points in the table as they defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene 3-1. The senior night win gives Marian an 11-3-2 overall record, while the Knights are 5-3 in Crossroads League play.

Marian and Mount Vernon played much of the first half in the midfield, with neither team maintaining an offensive presence in the early stages of the half. Mt. Vernon took the first shot attempt of the night in the 18th minute, but the attempt was denied by Alvaro Rueda. The Cougars would pepper two more shots toward the goal over the following five minutes, but each look missed wide of the target. 

The Knights began to build an offensive identity late in the first half, putting together positive runs in the final 10 minutes of the half. In the 39th minute, the draw was broken as Sebastian Gonzalez worked through the defense and hammered the game's first goal, giving Marian a 1-0 lead that stood until the intermission. 

In the second half, both the Knights and Cougars began owning their possession of the ball, with the Cougars taking a header five minutes into the half. Marian countered with a shot attempt by Kameron Hooker in the 53rd minute, but his bicycle attempt was easily saved by the keeper. Gonzalez and Miguel Luna gave their run at a goal in the 58th minute, but each of their shot attempts were blocked, and in the 60th minute the Cougars responded as Sam Hershey ripped a shot past Rueda to tie the match at 1-1.

Evan Dawdy subbed on after the goal and immediately looked to put Marian in the lead, blasting a pair of shots in his first five minutes of work. A header by Phillip Seifert was also denied, but Marian kept their persistent attack steady. In the 68th minute Alan Tenorio attacked from the left side of the Mount Vernon defense, and sent a pass to Dawdy, as the sophomore cleaned up his third shot attempt with the go-ahead goal. 

With the 2-1 lead the pressure turned to the defense, as Rueda and his back line made three saves to keep their team in the lead. Another two shots were denied by the Cougars as they were blocked, and in the 87th minute Marian was able to leak out on a breakaway. Marian's striker was tackled as he approached the box, giving Marian an indirect free kick from 21 yards out, with the captain Romaric Berneron burying the shot attempt to put a stamp on Marian's 3-1 victory. 

Marian ended the game being out-shot 9-14, but capitalized on their three looks on goal. Dawdy took a team-leading three shots, and Gonzalez took a pair of shots as both players scored goals. Berneron's lone shot attempt was a goal, with each of Marian's three goals coming from reserve players.

In goal, Rueda conceded one goal in four attempts on target, making three saves in the match. 

Marian will travel to Huntington on Saturday night for their regular season finale, needing a win over Huntington to guarantee a home match in the Crossroads League Tournament. If the Knights were not to pick up all three points, they would need help from the Spring Arbor and Indiana Wesleyan match to determine the third, fourth, and fifth seeds in the tournament.



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