Matchup

No. 3 seed Mount Union will host No. 6 seed Marietta in the first round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament on Tuesday, October 31 at 7 p.m. in Alliance, Ohio.

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Tickets can be purchased here.

The Purple Raiders (15-2-1, 6-2-1 OAC) are led offensively by the senior duo of Jamon McCort (Magnolia / Sandy Valley) and Carter Hancock (Amherst / Marion L. Steele), McCort is third in the conference in goals scored with 10, while Hancock has nine. Hancock also leads the OAC in assists with nine and is second in points with 27. Mount Union's defense is led by the senior trio of Adam Kalvitz (Avon), Brett Kayser (Cleveland / Lakewood St. Edward) and Zak Peterjohn (North Royalton). Freshman goalkeeper Jackson Callender (Cleveland Heights / Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) leads the OAC in goals against average, averaging just 0.42 goals per game and he's second in save percentage, sitting at 81-percent.

The Pioneers (6-11-1, 4-5-0 OAC) are led offensively by Gavin Heighberger, who has six goals on the season and Reggie Grayek, who has three goals and five assists. The Marietta defense is led by goalkeeper Joey Backhaus, who's seventh in the OAC in saves with 50.

OAC Tournament History

Mount Union is making its 15^th OAC Tournament appearance and has an overall record of 3-12-3.

Marietta is making its 14^th OAC Tournament appearance and has an overall record of 5-12-1.

The Raiders and the Pioneers have only met one time in the OAC Tournament.

• 2018 – No. 3 Mount Union 2, No. 6 Marietta 1

Up next…

The winner will advance to the semi-finals, but the teams will be reseeded after the first round with the lowest remaining seed travelling to No. 1 Otterbein and the highest remaining seed travelling to No. 2 Ohio Northern on Thursday.

Coaches

David Krems is in his fourth season as the head coach of Mount Union. He led the Raiders to the OAC Tournament in his first season in 2020 and then again last season in 2022. Before coming to Mount Union, Krems was the assistant men's soccer coach at Penn State-Behrend and helped lead the Lions to a 35-6-2 record, including a pair of Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances. He has also had assistant coaching stints at Case Western Reserve University, Notre Dame College, Hiram College and Xavier University.

Joe Bergin is in his eleventh season as the head coach at Marietta, he has led the Pioneers to eight OAC Tournament appearances. Before coming to Marietta Bergin played for three different teams in the United Soccer League. He has a combined 20 years of collegiate coaching experience and spent 10 years as the head women's soccer coach at Agnes Scott College in Georgia, where he was named the conference coach of the year three times and led the Scotties to their first conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2012.

Tournament Schedule

Tuesday, October 31 - First Round
 
No. 6 Marietta (4-5-0) at No. 3 Mount Union (6-2-1)
No. 5 Capital (4-4-1)  at No. 4 John Carroll (6-3-0)
 
Thursday, November 2 - Semifinals
 
Lowest remaining seed will play at No. 1 seed Otterbein (8-0-1)
Second lowest remaining seed will play at No. 2 Ohio Northern (7-1-1)
 
Saturday, November 4 - Finals
 
Highest remaining seed will host.