Marietta women's soccer upsets first place Wilmington with 3-1 victory
Senior Jessica Martinez moves into tie for second place in career goals with 27

Oct. 21, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College senior forward Jessica Martinez (Strongsville/Magnificat) assisted a pair of goals and then scored a third to propel the Pioneers women's soccer team to a 3-1 victory over first place Wilmington College Tuesday (Oct. 21) afternoon at Marietta Field. Martinez's goal moved her into a tie with Amy Lehosit '06 for second place on the squad's all-time goals list with 27. She increased her career point total to 63, which ranks third in school history.

The win improved Marietta's record to 4-8-3 overall but, more importantly, 2-1-3 (nine points) in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) with three games left to play on the schedule. The Quakers, ranked eighth in the latest NSCAA/Adidas Great Lakes Regional Poll, fell to 12-4 overall and suffered their first loss in six league games.

Wilmington produced the first six shots of the game, and the teams looked as if they would enter intermission locked in a scoreless tie. Marietta, however, made the most of their lone opportunity, which came with just 53 seconds to play in the half, to take a 1-0 advantage into the break. Martinez sent a cross from the near side of the field over the WIlmington keeper's head and to the back post, which was chested into the net by freshman Ashley Drehs (Parma/Normandy) for her second career goal.

Marietta extended its lead to 2-0 in the 54th minute. Again, Martinez set up the goal with an assist, her team-best fourth of the season. The captain advanced the ball with a pass to freshman forward Christina Tirpak (Galena/Olentangy), who was just making her way into the top corner of the 18-yard box. Tirpak followed with a one-touch shot, only Marietta's second of the game, past the keeper and into the back of the net for her first career goal.

The Quakers, who controlled the ball for most of the game, finally broke through in the 69th minute to pull within a goal, 2-1. Lauren Mumaw sent a cross on the ground and into the box from near the end line, which was overran by Marietta's keeper, allowing the ball to roll across the goal line and into the side of the net for the score. The goal was Mumaw's second of the season.

Marietta, however, put the finishing touches on the victory when Martinez scored the Pioneers' third goal in the 89th minute. Freshman Cara Nuss (Dayton/Carroll) sent a thru ball to Martinez from 30-yards out, and Martinez laced a one-touch shot past the Quaker keeper and into the right side of the net from 18-yards away for her team-leading sixth goal of the fall.

Wilmington out-shot Marietta 14-5 on the day, including 8-5 in shots on goal. The Quakers also led 4-2 in corner kicks.

Marietta sophomore goalkeeper Helen Hetzel (Radnor/Buckeye Valley) made seven saves while improving to 3-3-2 on the season. Wilmington's Casey McKinney had two saves in the loss.

The Pioneers will look to continue their climb up the OAC standings when they travel to Berea on Saturday (Oct. 25) evening for a 5:30 p.m. kickoff with host Baldwin-Wallace College.