MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's soccer team scored a goal in each half and avenged a lopsided loss from last year, defeating Kenyon College, 2-0, on Saturday (Sept. 21) afternoon at Marietta Field. The Pioneers are now 4-2-2 on the season, and the Owls fall to 1-5 overall. The win extends the Pioneers winning streak to three, their longest streak since 2019.
"I said earlier this year that if we found our attacking groove, we would be a very scary team," said Marietta head coach
Zack Votra. "We've finally done that and I couldn't be more thrilled for this amazing group of young women."
The first half was controlled by the Pioneers, although they could not generate any offense for the better part of the half. Marietta had a scoring chance in the ninth minute as
Demi Mills (Batavia, Ohio/West Clermont) sent a free kick from about 18 yards out. The ball caromed off of the cross bar and
Taylor Sloan (Belpre, Ohio/Warren) attempted to head the rebound in, only to miss high and to the right. Marietta had three shots on goal over the next several minutes but Owl goalkeeper Ariel Kite made the stop on all three, keeping the match scoreless.
Marietta finally broke the ice as Sloan sent a pinpoint pass into the far right corner of the box.
Angelene Kontul (Solon, Ohio/Solon) was able to catch up to the pass and sent a shot into the lower right portion of the goal, giving the Pioneers a 1-0 advantage with 16 minutes remaining in the half. No other scoring opportunities took place for the remainder and Marietta took a 1-0 lead into intermission.
Marietta took nine minutes into the second half to gain a much needed insurance as Kontul took a throw in and created a shot opportunity, rocketing a goal into the upper left hand corner of the net and giving Marietta a 2-0 lead. With their backs against the wall, Kenyon tried to tick up the pressure and finally found themselves with some shot opportunities. The Owls sent four shots over a 10-minute span, two were blocked and two were saved by Marietta keeper
Maisee Carrier (Fairview, Pa./Fairview), and the Pioneers maintained a two-score lead with 10 minutes remaining.
Anytime the Owls got close in the final minutes, the Pioneers defense did an excellent job clearing the ball out of the zone. Neither team could light up the score board again, and the Pioneers would claim victory, 2-0.
Carrier played all 90 minutes in goal for Marietta, she faced eight shots, two of which were on goal, and made two saves.
Marietta outshot Kenyon 18-11, but the Owls held the advantage in corner kicks 8-1.
The Pioneers will return to the field Saturday (Sept. 28) when they travel to battle Oberlin College. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 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.
