Mishawaka, Ind. - Backed by a first half brace from Cameron O'Brien, the Marian men's soccer team earned a 3-2 victory over No. 9 Bethel on Wednesday night, upsetting the Pilots to claim their fourth Crossroads League win of the season. Marian's win improves their record to 11-2-2 on the year, while jumping to third in the Crossroads League table with their 4-1-1 mark.
Bethel opened the night on the attack, ripping four shot attempts in the first 11 minutes of the match, with three missing the frame while Juan Torres made a save on the other. Donovan Doolittle and Diego Regueira took shot attempts in the midst of the Bethel attack, but neither shot from the Marian strikers went on target. Torres would make a second save in the opening half in the 21st minute, but was unable to keep the clean sheet as Sami Charaf Amal ripped a shot past Torres in the 29th minute to give Bethel a 1-0 lead.
The lead for the Pilots wouldn't last long, as the Knights responded just 63 seconds later with their first goal of the match. Matthew Loo fired a free kick toward the box for Kyle Alb, who saw his header get denied by a Pilot defender, however the ball redirected directly to Doolittle, who was able to deliver the equalizing goal. The goal allowed Marian to dial up their offense, and in the 38th minute Cameron O'Brien gave the Knights the lead, taking a ball headed on by Yeudiel Gonzalez and driving right on the goal, striking the go-ahead score.
Moments later, Marian was awarded another free kick, and Loo again placed another ball for Kyle Alb, whose header attempt ricocheted off the left post, caroming for the feet of O'Brien who was able to score the third goal of the half. O'Brien's first half brace put Marian on top 3-1 at intermission.
The Pilots were able to chip back at Marian's lead 11 minutes into the second half, as Julian Vargas Talama made it a 3-2 contest. Over the final 34 minutes, Juan Torres and the Marian defense were able to stall the Bethel offense, seeing eight shots miss the target, while the keeper made three additional saves. Bethel played man-down soccer for the final 10 minutes of play, and were unable to deliver a tying goal, allowing Marian to claim the 3-2 victory.
Torres made six saves in the win for Marian, allowing a pair of goals in his sixth victory of the season. O'Brien scored on both of his shot attempts, taking the game-winning goal in his 35 minutes of work. Doolittle scored the team's first goal on one of his two shot attempts, and Kyle Alb assisted on two goals, taking a team-high three shots. Regueira also took two shots in the match, and Yeudiel Sebastian Gonzalez and Yoshiaki Takeishi each took one shot attempt.
Marian continues their road stand on Saturday night, traveling to Fort Wayne to take on the University of Saint Francis.
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