MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's lacrosse team earned an Ohio Athletic Conference victory, 16-12 over Ohio Northern University on Marietta on Saturday (April 10) afternoon. With the win the Pioneers are 6-6 overall and 6-6 in the OAC and with the loss the Polar Bears are now 5-8 overall and 5-8 in OAC action.
"I'm so proud of the team for earning a huge conference win today. We stuck to our plan and executed at crucial moments. It was a great game for both teams. ONU was able to capitalize on a lull we had in the 2nd half and clawed back, but I am happy we were able to secure the win with great defense," said Head Coach
Malory Nadrah. "It's awesome to see how much both of our programs have grown and how the OAC women's lacrosse teams are becoming more competitive with each other."
After Ohio Northern scored the opening goal of the game, Marietta answered with six consecutive goals to hold a 6-1 edge, with just over 11 minutes to play in the half.
Rachel Sivie (Washington, Pa./Trinity) scored three of the six goals during the run,
Mackenzie Dyott (Easton, Md./Easton) scored a pair of goals, and
Shannon Doyle (Gibsonia, Pa/Mars Area) scored one goal.
Megan Marshall (Naples, Fla./Estero) notched an assist during the run. The Polar Bears answered with three straight goals, to trim the Pioneers edge to 6-4 with just over three minutes to play in the half.
Hope Adams (Delaware, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) scored the final goal of the half for Marietta, and the Pioneers led 7-4 at the intermission.
"Our defense did a great job today especially in the first half. Marley Phillippe, Brogan Hurd, Taylor Carr and Kayla all played great 1v1 defense & made good, smart slides for each other," added Coach Nadrah.
Marietta opened the second half quickly, with three unanswered goals. The Pioneer goals were scored by
Shelby Millheim (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom),
Megan McGriff (Lakewood, Colo./Bear Creek), and
Kayla Kearns (Preston, Md./Easton), to hold a 10-4 edge at the 19:38 minute mark of the second half. After an Ohio Northern goal, Marietta scored back to back goals to lead 12-5. The Pioneer goals were scored by Marshall, and Dyott scored off a feed from Doyle. After a Polar Bear goal made the score 12-6, three goals from Marietta put them on top 15-6 with nine minutes to play in the game. Doyle scored a pair of the goals during the run, and Marshall scored the final goal. Ohio Northern battled back into the game with six straight goals, but Doyle scored the final goal of the game, and the Pioneers won, 16-12.
Coach Nadrah said, "Casey Roeder played a huge role on defense for us and sealed the win when she picked up a huge ground ball and got it to the offensive end safely at the end."
Lauren Redfern (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) earned the start in goal, but
Maddie Leers (Crystal Lake, Ill./Barrington) played a majority of the game in net. Leers faced 32 shots, 25 of which were on goal, and made 13 saves, to earn her sixth win of the season.
Marietta was led by Doyle, she had four goals, a pair of assists, and five draw controls. Dyott and Sivie each added three goals in the game. Defensively,
Brogan Hurd (Halethrope, Md./Catonsville) led the way with a pair of caused turnovers.
"I'm extremely grateful to celebrate senior day for the first time in program history. Shannon has been a wonderful addition to our program this year and our team has benefited so much from her experience, leadership, and work ethic. Lauren has contributed so much to the foundation of our program. Her passion and dedication for MCWLAX are a testament to where we are today. We are so proud of her for being the first member of the inaugural class to graduate the program and look forward to her continuing to be in Marietta during her Master's program," concluded Coach Nadrah
The Pioneers will return to the field Wednesday (April 13) when they travel to take on John Carroll 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.
