LATROBE, Pa. – The Marietta College women's lacrosse team got off to red-hot start, despite the chilly temperatures, and cruised to victory over Saint Vincent College 20-4 on Saturday (Feb. 24) afternoon. With the win the Pioneers improved to 2-0 overall and the Bearcats fell to 0-2.
 
"Really happy with team's readiness to play today," said Head Coach Malory Nadrah. "Despite the early morning drive and cold temperatures, we started the game torrid and executed our game plan. Our attackers did a great job scoring on a very talented SVU goalie and our circle personnel dominated the draw. We were able to rotate a lot of defenders in today and they each contributed to successful transitions up the field."
 
Marietta stormed out to huge lead in the first quarter.  Hope Adams (Delaware, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) scored on the first possession, assisted by Renee Mulvaney (Midland, Mich./Midland), and Mallory Wiles (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) and Casey Roeder (Milford, Ohio/Milford) followed with goals in the next minute and the Pioneers led 3-0 in a blink of the eye.  Adams and Wiles scored again in successive possessions and Mulvaney scored a goal at the 11:01 mark to give Marietta a 6-0 advantage.  Later in the quarter, first year players Sarah Imig (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield Central) and Sophi Merickel (Phoenix, Ariz./Cactus Shadows) found the net to extend the lead and Maggie Downard (Canal Fulton, Ohio/Jackson) scored an unassisted goal to put the lead at 9-0.  The quarter finished with another goal from Adams and a score from Natalie Cocco (McMurray, Pa./Peters Township) to put the Pioneer lead at 11-0 going into the second quarter.
 
In a rapid second quarter, Marietta got addition goals from Adams, Wiles, and Mulvaney while was only able to sling a single shot past Marietta goalkeeper Abby May (Randolph, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary).  Marietta led at the half, 14-1.
 
With continuous clock rules in place, the second half moved at a torrid pace.  Marietta was able to get additional scores from Roeder, Cocco, and Mulvaney in the third period.  The Pioneers subbed in freshman Tessa Labrasciano (Brandon, Fla./Bloomingdale Senior) in the second half to get some valuable minutes.  Midway through the quarter, she gave a goal but finished with two save to close out the period and Marietta led 17-2 heading into the fourth quarter.  Adams and Wiles added more scores to the total in the fourth and would cruise to a 20-4 victory.
 
May spent 30 minutes in the nets and earned the win for the Pioneers. She faced three total shots, all of which were on goal, and made two saves in the game. Labrasciano worked the second half and faced five shots on goal and made two saves.
 
Adams led the Pioneers with six goals and Wiles added four goals for the game. Mulvaney added three goals, assisted on two others, and added three caused turnovers while picking up four groundballs.  Alayna Francis (Irwin, Pa./Norwin) led the Pioneers in draw controls with six and Marley Phillippe (Easton, Md./Easton) followed with four draw controls. Delaney Warner (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) also picked up her first three career groundballs.  
 
"Shout out to Hope for not only a great attack performance but awesome hustle on the ride and looking to feed her teammates in the 8," concluded Coach Nadrah.
 
The Pioneers will next play Wednesday (Feb. 28) when they travel to take on Franciscan University, with the game scheduled to begin at 3 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 X and Instagram.