MARIETTA, Ohio. – The Marietta College women's soccer team took another significant step in its historic season Wednesday (Oct. 28) night, playing visiting Otterbein University to a 0-0 draw at Marietta Field. With the result, Marietta moved to 6-8-3 overall and 3-3-1 in the OAC. Otterbein moved to 8-6-1 overall and 6-0-1 in the conference.
The Pioneers also officially clinched their first Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament berth since 2003 and remain in contention to host a first-round playoff match depending on the outcome of Saturday's regular-season finale at Baldwin Wallace.
"We kept ourselves in a great position to host a playoff game," said Marietta head coach
Zack Votra. "That team is now at the top of the conference. We now firmly believe that we can compete with anyone!"
The biggest moment of the opening half came in the 36th minute when Otterbein was awarded a penalty kick. Marietta goalkeeper
Francesca Agliolo (San Gabriel, Calif./Mayfield Senior) came up with the save on Keaton Aspacher's attempt, preserving the scoreless deadlock and energizing the Pioneer defense.
Offensively, the Pioneers created several quality chances of their own.
Jaylyn Thornton (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) led Marietta with four shots, putting three efforts on target. Thornton tested Otterbein goalkeeper Isabella Neal in the 12th minute, again late in the first half, but the half eventually ended in a 0-0 tie.
Marietta's defense continued to stand tall throughout the second half despite sustained pressure from the Cardinals. The Pioneers survived seven Otterbein corner kicks after intermission and limited the visitors to just four shots on goal for the match.
The Pioneers nearly found a late winner in the closing minutes as
Claire Warren (Logan, Ohio/Logan) and
Madelyn Call (Letart, W.Va./Point Pleasant) each fired shots during a final offensive push, but the match ended in a scoreless stalemate.
Agliolo finished the night with four saves, recording her seventh shutout of the season as Marietta held one of the conference's top attacking teams off the scoreboard. She made two saves in each half, including stops on Aspacher and Cat Szasz in the final 12 minutes.
The Pioneers will close the regular season Saturday (Oct. 31) afternoon when they travel to Baldwin Wallace, scheduled for a 1 p.m. start time. A favorable result, combined with outcomes elsewhere in the conference, could allow Marietta to earn a home postseason match for the first time in more than two decades.
Fans can follow all 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.
