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‘Now the real fun begins’: Tigers cap regular season with 3-0 win vs. Big Reds

By Jordan Holland 4 min read

DEVOLA -- The Marietta boys soccer team capped off the 2026 regular season by defeating Parkersburg 3-0 in a regular-season finale Tuesday at Jerry Brock Field.

Kingston McMahon scored a pair of goals for the Tigers, who improved to 8-2-7, with Colton Baker assisting both times.

"All the boys gave up their best effort and just came out with a great win," said McMahon, who received the Tigers' "Man of the Match" belt from MHS head coach Todd Morris. "It’s a whole team thing. Getting that belt is because of the team. It’s not just me out there and it's not just because of how I played. It’s how all of us played. It’s a team effort."

Carson Hamilton had Marietta's first goal of the match. Hamilton struck a free kick from about 20 yards out through traffic and into the right side of the net.

It was the first of two set-piece goals for the Tigers, who later scored when McMahon headed in a corner kick from Baker.

"A little sloppy," Morris said of the victory. "Took us a while to get into rhythm, and I really don’t even think we got in any kind of rhythm. We were able to create some goals. Two goals on set pieces. Set pieces have been good for us this year. We struggled to produce in the run of play. We did get the third one in the run of play, but two good set-piece goals."

The third goal developed when Baker's shot on frame was saved by PHS keeper Daniel Braniff. Braniff went straight up and batted the ball away, but McMahon was there to get a knee on it and put it into the back of the net.

"As a forward, often your job is to score goals, and you want them to put themselves in dangerous areas and finish," Morris said. "That’s what Kingston did -- put himself in dangerous areas a couple times, and he was rewarded for it."

Marietta keeper Finn Tindall saved all four of the Big Reds' shots on goal to produce his seventh clean sheet of the campaign. Tindall denied Parkersburg's best scoring opportunity of the night in the 54th minute when he dove to his right to swat away a well-struck ball by Jack Hoye. The ensuing corner kick was put in a dangerous spot by Kohen Jones, but Tindall was there to snag it out of harm's way and preserve Marietta's 1-0 advantage.

"Finn, you just kind of get used to it, and you kind of take it for granted, but that’s what a good goalkeeper does is bail you out when it’s needed," Morris said. "Finn’s been great for us for three years now, and we’re always really comfortable with him."

Marietta finished with 10 shots on goal, with Braniff saving seven of them. Both teams tallied five corner kicks.

Up next for the Tigers is a tournament opener next Thursday at home against Fairfield Union, a team they beat 2-1 back on Sept. 5. Morris said his squad will need to step it up a notch in postseason play.

"Not the best draw for us," he said. "It’s a loaded district. Keith Schwendeman, my old assistant, is in Athens now, and he just texted me that they beat Unioto, and that’s the 3-seed. It’s so up in the air. Fairfield Union is the kind of a team that -- we did beat them here early in the season, but it was quite the battle, and the way they play kind of gives us trouble at times, but we’re looking forward to the challenge. We've got nine days to prepare. Now the real fun begins."

The Big Reds, who await regional tournament play, fell to 3-12-4 on the year.

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@mariettatimes.com.

At Jerry Brock Field

Marietta 3, Parkersburg 0

P (3-12-4) 0 0 -- 0

M (8-2-7) 1 2 -- 3

M: Carson Hamilton, free kick, 24th minute

M: Kingston McMahon, Colton Baker corner kick, 63rd minute

M: McMahon, Baker assist, 73rd minute

Team stats

Shots on goal: P: 4; M: 10; Keeper saves: P: 7 (Daniel Braniff); M: 4 (Finn Tindall); Corner kicks: P: 5; M: 5

Starting at /week.