WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's soccer team used two second half goals six minutes apart to come from behind to defeat Marietta College 2-1 Saturday (Oct. 26) afternoon in an Ohio Athletic Conference matchup at Wilmington's Charlie Gilhart Field. The goals, both scored by Rachelle Bowen, were scored in the 53rd and 59th minutes.
The Pioneers took the first half lead against the run of play in the 26th minute when sophomore
Jessica Long (Carroll, Ohio/Bloom-Carroll) was fouled in the penalty box. The ensuing penalty kick was calmly finished by senior
Rachel Hartong (Mt. Vernon/Mount Vernon) for her first goal of the year. The goal energized the Pioneers as they saw a good portion of the possession for the remainder of the half and went into the halftime break with a 1-0 lead.
The Quakers came out at the start of the second half with renewed focus and pressured the Pioneers all over the field. Fatigue began to set in on the Pioneers as Wilmington used nine substitutes to the Pioneers' two. Bowen's goals were just reward for their possession and put the Pioneers in a hole they were unable to recover from. "We just couldn't keep pace with them as we got tired in the second half and after the goals we struggled to find the energy needed to get the tying goal," Head Coach Tracy Blasius said.
For the game the Pioneers were outshot 19-4 with 10 of the Quakers' shots on goal while all four of Marietta's shots were on frame. Senior goalkeeper
Kaitlyn Pearse (Galena/Olentangy Orange) recorded seven saves on the afternoon while her counterpart Grace Hignite picked up two saves.
The loss dropped the Pioneers record to 2-14 and 0-7 in the OAC and raised Wilmington's record to 10-6-1 and 4-3 in the OAC. The win kept the Quakers in the playoff hunt as they sit in seventh, equal on points with the University of Mount Union, but the Purple Raiders own the head to head tiebreaker by virtue of their 1-0 win earlier in the season. The top six make the playoffs. The Pioneers are in 10th and eliminated from playoff contention.
Marietta returns to action Tuesday in a home conference match against Otterbein University. Kick off at Marietta Field is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
