Lady Pioneers open OAC play with 3-1 win over Ohio Northern

Oct. 1, 2005
MARIETTA, Ohio – The Marietta College women's soccer team had a September to remember in 2005 and set the tone for an even better October with a 3-1 victory over visiting Ohio Northern Saturday (Oct. 1) in what was both team's league opener. The win improved Marietta's record to 10-0-1 overall and 1-0 in OAC play, whiel Ohio Northern fell to 6-4-1, 0-1 in the OAC.

Head Coach Patrick Holguin's squad was inspired by a pregame ceremony that recognized some of the special people that help bring the vision of the new Marietta Field to a reality. It took only 48 seconds for the inspiration to produce results, as freshman Allison Williams (Fishers, IN/Hamilton Southeastern) got the home crowd on its feet with the Pioneers' first goal of the game. Williams took a pass from senior Amy Lehosit (Pickerington) and headed it past the Polar Bear keeper for her fourth goal of the year. It was Lehosit's fifth assist of 2005.

Marietta took a 2-0 advantage 12 minutes later when freshman Jessica Martinez (Strongsville/Magnificat) scored her fifth goal of the season. Sophomore Vanessa Nicholls (Cornwall, ONT, Canada) was credited with the assist.

Lehosit made the score 3-0 with an unassisted goal with 14:22 remaining in the half. It was her fifth goal of the fall.

Ohio Northern finally got on the board with 5:44 to go in the first half when Erin Stapp got a shot past Marietta's Bethany Blahnik (Mansfield/Ontario). Emily Davis picked up the assist on the goal.

Although the second half did not produce any goals, it had its share of excitement, as Marietta was forced to play with just 10 players for the final 25 minutes due to an ejection. The Lady Pioneers' defense was up to the challenge, however, and held strong to give MC the 3-1 win.

Overall, Ohio Northern finished with eight shots on goal, compared to Marietta's five. Blahnik finished with four saves, while ONU's Barbie Krieger had one.

Marietta will return to action Wednesday (Oct. 5) when it travels to Wilmington for a 4 p.m. OAC match-up.