ADA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's lacrosse team was defeated 18-12 by Ohio Northern University on Saturday (Feb. 27) afternoon.  With the win the Polar Bears improve to 1-2 overall and 1-2 in Ohio Athletic Conference play, and with the loss the Pioneers are 1-1 overall and 1-1 in OAC action.

"This loss stings.  We let a lot of things in our control slip and struggled to translate a lot of things we worked on this week.," said Head Coach Malory Nadrah.  "We are all frustrated and know we could have played a lot better than we did."

Ohio Northern scored the first two goals of the game to lead 2-0, three minutes into the half.  Marietta cut the lead in half when Shelby Millheim (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) scored her first goal of the season.  The Pioneers tied the game at 2-2 when Casey Roeder (Milford, Ohio/Milford) scored off a feed from Natalie Cocco (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township), with 18 minutes to play in the opening half.  The Polar Bears answered with six straight goals, and led 8-2, with just over 10 minutes remaining in the half.  Marietta battled back with three consecutive goals to trim the Ohio Northern edge to 8-5.  The Pioneer goals were scored by Mackenzie Dyott (Easton, Md./Easton), Cocco, and Hope Adams (Delaware, Ohio/Bishop Watterson).  The Polar Bears scored the final goal of the half, and entered the intermission ahead, 9-5.  

Ohio Northern opened the second half with three unanswered goals, to lead 12-5 four minutes into the half.  Marietta responded with a pair of goals to cut the margin to 12-7.  The Pioneer goals were scored by Megan McGriff (Lakewood, Colo./Bear Creek), and Cocco.  Each team swapped a pair of goals, and the Polar Bears led 14-9, with just under 14 minutes to play in the half.  The Marietta goals were scored by Kyla Andreas (Shirley, N.Y./Longwood) and McGriff, with an assist by Dyott.  Ohio Northern stretched its lead to 17-9 with three straight goals.  The Pioneers answered with three consecutive goals of their own to make the score, 17-12 with about two minutes to play in the game.  The Marietta goals were scored by Roeder, McGriff, and Millheim, with an assist by Lindy Brobeck (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington).  The Polar Bears scored the final goal, and won 18-12.  

Maddie Leers (Crystal Lake, Ill./Barrington) played all 60 minutes in goal, she faced 37 total shots, 27 of which were on goal, and made nine saves in the game.

"Emily Etheridge (Harrisville, R.I./Burrillville) played a great game for us.  She is always willing and eager to do what she needs to do, and play where she needs to play for the team.  She did her job well today on attack and helped minimize our turnovers," concluded Coach Nadrah.    

The Pioneers were led by McGriff, she had three goals, picked up a groundball, and caused a turnover.  Millheim, Roeder, and Cocco each added a pair of goals.  Adams led Marietta in draw controls with four, and scored a goal.  The defense was led by Lindsay Horton (Birmingham, Ala./John Carroll Catholic), and Rachel Sivie (Washington, Pa./Trinity) as they each caused two turnovers.  

The Pioneers will play their home opener Wednesday (March 3) when they host Capital University, with the game scheduled to begin at 7 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.