Levi King's late penalty kick guides Men's Soccer to 1-0 victory over Marietta in OAC opener

By Blake Moore

ADA - The Ohio Northern men's soccer program registered its first Ohio Athletic Conference victory of 2018 and seventh consecutive win as the Polar Bears toppled Marietta 1-0 on Parent's Night at Kerscher Stadium in Ada Saturday evening.

With the victory, Northern improves to 8-2-1 overall and 1-0-0 in OAC competition. Meanwhile, the Pioneers drop to 6-4-0 this season and 0-1-0 in league play.

The Polar Bears and Pioneers would remain deadlocked well into the second half, but freshman Levi King (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central) would come through on a late penalty kick to provide the lone score of the match. He would receive his opportunity in the 87th minute, burying the attempt in the left side netting past Marietta netminder Dakota Penquite to secure the team's first conference win this season.

King's strike would be the seventh goal of his freshman campaign, which ranks second on the team. In addition, he now stands tied for first on the team with 20 points in 2018.

The freshman would lead the Polar Bears with three total shots on the evening while sophomore defender Beelal Hasan (Westerville/Thomas) was next in line with two total attempts at goal.

In net, freshman goalkeeper John Lombardo (Solon) would record his sixth straight win and third clean sheet of his career in Saturday night's victory. He would record five saves in the match, including a vital penalty kick stop in the 84th minute taken by Marietta's Cole Pappas.

As a team, the Polar Bears would be outshot 15-10 overall and 5-4 in shots on goal. Additionally, the Pioneers would record four corner kicks while Northern tallied two in the contest.

Ohio Northern will return to action on Wednesday, October 3 when they travel to Baldwin Wallace for an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. from George Finnie Stadium in Berea, Ohio.