Marks’ Heroics Lift St. Xavier (KY.) Past Montgomery Bell (Tenn.)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On a sunny March Saturday afternoon in Kentucky, a pair of Southern powers brought the madness as St. Xavier (Ky.) defeated Montgomery Bell Academy (Tenn.) 11-10 in an overtime thriller. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Entering Saturday's contest it was midfielder [player_tooltip player_id='22692' first='Connor' last='Marks'] who had been the leader for the Tigers' offense through the early season. The junior had tallied a team-high 17 points off 10 goals and seven assists through four games. And in a game that featured a lot of offense, it was Marks who got the scoring started as he split to his left 10 yards out, got inside, and put home a bouncer with his strong right hand.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After that opening score, however, Marks would be held scoreless and without a single point for much of the remaining time in the contest as MBA defensive midfielder Jackson McGuffin did a tremendous job at stifling the offensive weapon. But when the Tigers found themselves in a hole and needing a lift late in the game, Marks was among the Tigers' to answer the call.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>MBA star [player_tooltip player_id='16848' first='Cade' last='Sturdivant'] used a pick from X to get free for his second goal of the game and make it a 10-7 Big Red lead early in the four quarter. That score from the Army verbal, however, would be the last of the day for MBA as the Tigers scored each of the final four goals to earn the win. Marks was apart of three of those scores, assisting [player_tooltip player_id='24365' first='Will' last='Townsend'] and then Brooks Mahoney to help cut the Big Red lead to one (10-9).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In the overtime period, Marks would take matters into his own hands. He set up at 20-yard mark on the right side of the field, got a step on his defender, got downhill, and found the back of the net to seal the victory for the Tigers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the win, St. Xavier moves to 3-2 on the season as they look ahead to their annual rivalry matchup with Trinity next week. The loss in the first on the season for MBA as the Big Red now boast a 5-1 record with games versus Franklin and Brentwood awaiting next week to end the month of March.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here is a look at some of the standouts from the overtime battle between the Tigers and Big Red:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["22692"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67df17f9d41d6"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The headlining performer of the contest, Marks ended the game with four points off two goals and two assists. That gives the junior 22 points (12G/9A) through five games in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Saturday, Marks was at his best late as he showcased his feeding ability with a pair of crucial four-quarter assists. Each of his goals, including the game-winner, came in similar fashion as he was able to use his speed to beat his defender and get downhill for the score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["24502"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67df17f9d4296"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Dobson was arguably St. Xavier's best defender on Saturday afternoon. He was tasked with guarding MBA's top offensive weapon in [player_tooltip player_id='16848' first='Cade' last='Sturdivant']. Dobson showcased good on-ball defense, being able to match feet and stay with the Army verbal almost every time he tried to get a step on the senior pole. Dobson put his entire repertoire on display for his biggest play of the game as he came up with the ground ball and pushed up field where he found Devin Ryan for the game-tying and overtime-forcing score.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["24365"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67df17f9d4343"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Townsend had just one goal through four games coming into Saturday's contest. The sophomore would find his rhythm versus the Big Red, however, netting a hat trick for the Tigers in the win. A good off-ball playmaker who has some range, his biggest score of the day came in the four quarter and off a [player_tooltip player_id='22692' first='Connor' last='Marks'] feed. That score, which came right on the crease, gave Townsend the hat trick and was the first of a game-ending, four-goal Tiger run.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Brooks Mahoney","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'2u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"142","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"St. Xavier","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Resolute Cincinnati","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67df1e5396119"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The junior attackman had a tremendous showing on Saturday in the Tigers' win over MBA. Mahoney found the back of the net once and assisted on two other scores to give him three points on the day. He also showcased his strong riding ability, making a number of select impactful plays in that realm. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["16848"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67df17f9d43f4"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">A strong quarterback for the MBA offense, Sturdivant has shown the ability to make plays anywhere on the field. While he was held in check for portions of the game but did show the ability to break through and make those plays most are accustomed to seeing from him. The junior Army verbal ended the game with four points off two goals and two assists. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Nicholas Lucas","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"150","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_weight":"field_65b288425ecf6","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"143","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Montgomery Bell Academy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67df1e539622f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">The strong senior goal-scorer and outside threat made his mark in Louisville on Saturday. Lucas netted two goals for the Big Red in the loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->