MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's lacrosse team won its season opener, 18-7 over Bethany College on Monday (Feb.24) evening on Marietta Field. The Pioneers are now 1-0 on the season and the Bison fall to 0-1 overall.
Head Coach
Malory Nadrah said, "Tonight was a terrific start to our season and a great way to begin our second season as a program. Plenty of things to still work on, but overall I am very pleased with the complete team effort that was displayed."
Marietta opened the scoring two minutes into the game when
Mackenzie Dyott (Easton, Md./Easton) found the back of the net off a feed from
Lindy Brobeck (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington). Less than a minute later, Bethany answered to tie the game at 1-1. The Pioneers responded with nine consecutive goals, over a 10 minute span, and Marietta stretched out a 10-1 advantage. The Marietta goals were scored by Dyott,
Natalie Cocco (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township), Shelby MIllheim,
Rachel Sivie (Washington, Pa./Trinity), Brobeck, and
Kelsey Burns (Medina, Ohio/Medina). The Bison broke the Pioneers run with a goal to make the score, 10-2 with just under 15 minutes to play in the half. Marietta answered with a pair of goals from Cocco, and
Kayla Kearns (Preston, Md./Easton), to put the Pioneers on top 12-2. After a Bethany goal, Marietta scored two more goals when Cocco scored an unassisted goal, and
Sophia Verona (Shinnston, W. Wa./Our Lady of Victory) scored off a feed from
Emily Etheridge (Harrisville, R.I./Burrillville). The Bison scored the final goal of the half, but the Pioneers led, 14-4 at the intermission.
After five scoreless minutes of action, Marietta opened the scoring in the second half when Dyott scored her fifth goal of the game, off an assist from
Natalie Johnson (Uniontown, Ohio/Green). Bethany battled and scored the next three goals of the match, which trimmed the Pioneers lead to 15-7 with just over 14 minutes to play in the game. Marietta scored three goals over the final 14 minutes of action to close out the game. The goals were scored by Sivie and
Jessica Hill (Woodsfield, Ohio/Ohio Virtual Acdemy), and the Pioneers won 18-7.
The Pioneers were led by Dyott as she scored a game high five goals, and tied for the team lead in ground balls with four. Cocco pitched in with four goals, an assist, and a caused turnover in the game. Sivie added to the attack with three goals, and had a pair of ground balls, and a caused turnover.
"Mackenzie and Natalie played so well in the 8 for us, they handled tough play and got the ball in the back of the net. Our midfield did a tremendous job in transition and looking for each other on the attacking end," added Coach Nadrah. "I was really impressed with our ride tonight.
Sophia Verona (Shinnston, W. Wa./Our Lady of Victory) had some great offensive ride plays and caused some key turnovers in their clears."
Maddie Leers (Crystal Lake, Ill./Barrington) and
Lauren Redfern (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) split time in the goal, Leers earned her first win of the season and the duo made seven saves.
"I'm so happy we got everyone some great experience on the field. We were able to keep a lot of players rotating and get some players time in some new roles," concluded Coach Nadrah. "Keeping the team fresh will be crucial for this week with 2 more games still to come. We're proud of the result tonight, but tomorrow it's right back to work."
Marietta will return to the field Wednesday (Feb. 26) when they host Washington and Jefferson, with the game scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Fans can follow all of the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
