TIFFIN, Ohio – The Marietta College women's lacrosse team secured a spot in the OAC Tournament with 14-8 road victory over Heidelberg University on Saturday (April 24) evening.  With the win the Pioneers finish the regular season with a 7-9 record, and the Student Princes finish their season with an 0-12 record.

"Glad we got the win but very disappointed in our performance tonight. Heidelberg played a great game and we failed to execute our game plan and goals," said Head Coach Malory Nadrah.   "We're still struggling to find our own play regardless of who our opponent is, but the fact is we won and we have concluded a great season."

Heidelberg opened the scoring in the first minute of the match to lead 1-0.  After 10 minutes of scoreless action the Student Princes made the score 2-0.  Marietta halted the momentum when Megan McGriff (Lakewood, Colo./Bear Creek) scored a free position goal.  Four minutes later, the Pioneers tied the game when Casey Roeder (Milford, Ohio/Milford) made a nice pass in transition to Carlee Kernodle (Oak Park, Ill./Oak Park), who scored her first goal of the season, to make the score 2-2 at the 13-minute mark of the half.  Marietta took a 3-2 advantage when Rachel Sivie (Washington, Pa./Trinity) found the back of the net.  Five minutes later, Shelby Millheim (Bethlehem, Pa./Freedom) increased the Pioneers edge to 4-2 on a free position goal.  Heidelberg scored the final two goals of the half, and the teams entered the intermission deadlocked at four goals apiece.  

Each team scored a goal in the opening minute of the second half, and the game remained tied at 5-5.  The Marietta goal was scored by Brogan Hurd (Halethrope, Md./Catonsville).  A minute later the Pioneers took a 6-5 lead when Hope Adams (Delaware, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) scored an unassisted goal.  Four minutes later, Marietta tacked on a second straight goal, when Mackenzie Dyott (Easton, Md./Easton) made the score 7-5.  The Student Princes answered with three consecutive goals, to hold an 8-7 edge with just under 20 minutes to play in the game.  The Pioneers responded with four straight free position goals to lead 11-8, with just over 11 minutes to play in the game.  The Marietta goals were scored by Natalie Cocco (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township), Adams, and McGriff.  The Pioneers continued to pull away, as they scored the final three goals and won the game 14-8.  The goals were scored by McGriff, Sivie, and Cocco with an assist by Millheim.    

Maddie Leers (Crystal Lake, Ill./Barrington) played all 60 minutes in goal, she faced 20 shots, 12 of which were on goal, and made four saves, to earn her seventh win of the season.  

The Marietta offense was led by Adams, she scored three goals in the match, and set a program record for points in a season with 32.  Adams also had a gam high five draw controls in the game.  McGriff added three goals in the game, and Cocco and Sivie each had a pair of goals.  Defensively, Roeder, Jordan Jeffries (Baltimore, Md./Baltimore Polytechnic), and Lindsay Horton (Birmingham, Ala./John Carroll Catholic) all caused a turnover in the game.

"I'm very proud of our team for earning a playoff berth in our 3rd ever season and 2nd season playing in the OAC. Like everyone says, this year was a roller coaster and the team has preserved through so much. Earning a playoff spot is a true testament to the team buying in and having a tremendous work ethic. We are very excited to prepare for our first ever playoff game and I look forward to the bright future of this program," concluded Coach Nadrah.   

The Pioneers will be back in action Tuesday (April 27) when they travel to Capital for the quarterfinals of the OAC Tournament.    

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.