ADA, Ohio — The Marietta College women's soccer team opened Ohio Athletic Conference play on Saturday afternoon, falling 2–0 to Ohio Northern University. With the defeat, the Pioneers move to 2–6–2 overall and 0–1–0 in conference action, while the Polar Bears improve to 3–4–3 overall and 1–0–0 in the OAC.
Marietta's defense held strong through a busy opening period. Goalkeeper
Francesca Agliolo (San Gabriel, Calif./Mayfield Senior) anchored the backline early, making three saves in the first 45 minutes to keep Ohio Northern off the board despite a 9–1 shot advantage for the Polar Bears.
The Polar Bears broke the deadlock early in the second half with two quick strikes just 67 seconds apart. Kenzie Creviston netted the match's opening goal at the 50:27 mark off an assist from Ayva Moore. Moments later at the 51-minute mark, Moore found the back of the net herself off a return pass from Creviston to double the ONU advantage to 2–0.
Marietta pushed upfield down the stretch, creating second-half chances from
Madelyn Call (Letart, W.Va./Point Pleasant),
Jaylyn Thornton (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial), and
Katie Heighberger (LaGrange, Ohio/Saint Joseph Academy), but was unable to break through the Polar Bear defense.
Ohio Northern outshot the Pioneers, 20-4, and also held a large advantage in corner kicks, 10-1.
Agliolo logged all 90 minutes between the posts for Marietta, finishing with five saves against 20 total shots faced. Ohio Northern's Blake Sakach recorded one save to pick up the clean-sheet victory.
The Pioneers will next be in action this Wednesday (Oct. 7) evening as they will take to the road for their final non-conference matchup of the year. They will battle Mount Aloysuis College in a matchup scheduled for 6 p.m.
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.
