Six Lady Pioneers earn All-OAC honors in women's soccer
Senior midfielder Amy Lehosit named first team All-Conference

Nov. 9, 2005
TWINSBURG, Ohio – The Ohio Athletic Conference released its women's soccer special awards and All-OAC teams Wednesday (Nov. 9), and six Marietta College student-athletes picked up league recognition, including senior midfielder Amy Lehosit (Pickerington), who was named first team All-OAC.

Lehosit is just the second women's soccer player ever to receive OAC recognition in each of her four years — goalkeeper Jenny Fleischer earned second team honors from 1996-99 — and the fourth to be named to the first team. Lehosit was given honorable mention as a freshman, earned second team honors as a sophomore and first team honors as a junior and senior.

In 2005, she finished with a team-high seven goals, which ranked 10th in the league. She also added six assists, which was second on the squad and sixth in the OAC. Lehosit's 20 points ranked ninth among all OAC players this season.

Lehosit closed out her Pioneer career as the school's all-time assists leader with 28. She also ranks second behind Dawn Karbler ’96 in career goals and points with 27 and 82, respectively.

Junior midfielder Jill Sorboro (Cuyahoga Falls) represented Marietta on the second team All-OAC list. For Sorboro, it is her first conference honor. She finished the fall with a team-best seven assists, which ranked second in the conference. In addition, her 0.44 assists per game was the highest in the league. She has now moved into fourth place on MC's all-time assists list with 11. Sorboro also added three goals for a total of 13 points on the year, which tied for second-highest on the team.

The Lady Pioneers had four players — seniors Bethany Blahnik (Mansfield/Ontario), Kristin Drain (Point Pleasant, W. Va.) and Emilee Knowlton (Marietta), as well as freshman Jessica Martinez (Strongsville/Magnificat) — given honorable mention All-OAC honors.

It is the second straight season Blahnik was recognized with honorable mention honors. In 2005, she posted a shutout in 12 of 19 games, allowed just 12 goals and played every minute in goal in MC's record-breaking 14-win season. Blahnik led the Ohio Athletic Conference in goals against average (0.62), saves percentage (.887) and shutouts (12), while finishing third in saves (94).

Blahnik, who was named ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District earlier this month, finished her career as the school record holder in shutouts with 32, victories with 45 and with GAA of 0.82, while fourth in career saves (356).

For Drain, it the third season that she earned OAC honors, having been named honorable mention as a sophomore and second team as a junior. She finished with two goals on the year, while helping lead the defense to another record-breaking season.

Knowlton earned honorable mention for the second consecutive season. The defender also played a prominent role in the success of the team, as she was able to consistently shutdown her opponent's main scoring threat. Knowlton scored four goals and had two assists (10 points) on the season. Three of her four goals were game-winners, including one against Wilmington for the second straight season.

Martinez stepped into the lineup in her first season and provided an immediate spark on offense. She finished with six goals — three game-winning goals — and one assist to tie for second on the team with 13 points.

As a team, Marietta finished the year with an overall record of 14-3-2, 5-3-1 in the OAC. It tied for fourth in the league standings, but was left out of the conference tournament because of tiebreakers. The Pioneers set seven single-season records this fall — most wins (14), highest winning percentage (.789), fewest losses (3), fewest goals allowed (12), most shutouts (12), longest unbeaten streak (14 games) and longest unbeaten streak at home (8 games).