CRESSON, Pa. – The Marietta College women's soccer team struck early and capped off the night with a late tally to earn a decisive 3-0 road shutout over Mount Aloysius College on Wednesday (Oct. 7) evening. With the victory, the Pioneers improve to 3-6-2 overall, while the Mounties fall to 1-8-1.
"Good to get back to our winning ways," said Marietta head coach
Zack Votra. "Now we have all eyes on Wilmington."
Marietta set the tempo right from the kickoff, pressuring the Mount Aloysius backline early. In the fifth minute, forward
Jaylyn Thornton (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) nearly put the Pioneers ahead when her shot rattled off the right post. She broke through just three minutes later at the 8:38 mark, finishing a pass from
Myah Byers (Delaware, Ohio/Delaware Hayes) to score her team-leading fifth goal of the season and put Marietta up 1-0.
The Pioneers kept their foot on the gas and doubled their advantage in short order. At 12:18, defender
Lexi Tekulve (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park) found Byers, who netted her first goal of the season to push the lead to 2-0.
Marietta threatened to extend the lead even further in the 29th minute when
Macey Orr (Solon, Ohio/Solon) drew a penalty kick opportunity, but her attempt missed off of the left post. Neither team could generate any more offense and Marietta took a 2-0 lead into the intermission.
The Pioneers maintained control through the final 45 minutes, outshooting the Mounties 10-3 in the second half. Just as time was winding down,
Madelyn Call (Letart, W.Va./Point Pleasant) put the final stamp on the victory, scoring an unassisted goal with :05 seconds remaining to secure the 3-0 triumph.
In goal, goalkeeper
Francesca Agliolo (San Gabriel, Calif./Mayfield Senior) delivered a spotless 90-minute performance to earn the shutout win. Agliolo turned away all five shots on goal she faced—stopping two in the opening period and three in the second half—to deny Mount Aloysius any momentum.
Marietta held an 18-8 edge in total shots and a 10-5 advantage in shots on goal. Both teams drew four corner kicks on the night.
The Pioneers will next be in action this Saturday (Oct. 10) afternoon as they return to Marietta Field for a battle with OAC foe Wilmington College. The women's team will play the second half of a double header scheduled to play at 4 p.m. The men's team will open the afternoon with a 1 p.m. matchup with Wilmington.
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.
