MARIETTA, Ohio – A pair of second half goals propelled Marietta College to a 2-1 victory over Bethany College (W.Va.) in women's soccer action Sunday (Sept. 8) afternoon. With the win, the Pioneers evened their record at 2-2 on the season. Bethany falls to 0-5 overall.
The Bison went on the attack right from the opening whistle. Bethany took six of its nine shots in the first 25 minutes of play. McKenna Junkin put the Bison on top 1-0 in the 13th minute when her shot hit the crossbar and deflected into the goal.
The momentum slowly started to shift as Marietta increased its effort on the attack in the closing minutes of the first half. The Pioneers had a few good scoring opportunities but couldn't manage the equalizer and trailed 1-0 at the half.
Picking up right where they left off at the end of the first half, Marietta continued to apply pressure on the Bison as the second period opened.
Senior midfielder
Emily Jones (Loudon, Tenn./Northville (Mich.)) got behind the Bethany defense and created a one-on-one with the keeper inside the 18-yard box. Jones fired the ball into the lower left corner of the net to knot the score at 1-1. It was Jones' second goal of the season.
Less than six minutes later, the Pioneers were awarded a direct kick just inside the left corner flag. Freshman
Layne Archer (Duncan Falls, Ohio/Philo) lofted the ball over the Bethany keeper's head to the far post where senior
Mattie Stowell (Ashtabula/Lakeside ) tapped the ball into the net for the game-winner, her first goal of the season.
Marietta controlled the ball for nearly the entire second half. Bethany managed just a single shot in the period.
Senior
Kaitlyn Pearse (Galena/Olentangy Orange) recorded four saves in goal for the Pioneers as she picked up her second victory of the season. Bethany's Cheyann McQuain had five saves in the losing effort.
For the match, Marietta held a slim 10-9 edge in shots and won the corner kick battle, 6-5.
Marietta hosts Centre College (Ky.) next Sunday (Sept. 15) in a 1:00 p.m. match. 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.
