Zachary Worstell
zdw001@marietta.edu
Last season the Marietta College Pioneers made their first ever appearance in the OAC Women’s Lacrosse Tournament. While they were unable to beat Otterbein University at home, they still held themselves high as they finished with a 10-7 record, the best in program history. How did they follow up the 2023 season?
The 2024 season started off hot as the Pios outscored their opponents 66-15. In their first game they traveled to Bethany and beat the Bison 24-5. Marietta continued their road dominance by beating Saint Vincent College 20-4 and Franciscan University 22-6.
The first loss of the season came against the College of Wooster 20-4. This was followed by a close matchup against Delaware Valley University. A goal by Hope Adams in the 4th quarter kept the game tied 7-7 as they head into first overtime. Only one shot was made during the three minutes of first overtime by Delaware Valley and was wide hence the game headed into double overtime. In double overtime a Pioneer turnover led to a goal for the Aggies.
The Pioneers were able to bounce back from their first two losses and beat Westminster College 17-9 in their home opener. They also beat Wittenberg University 18-10 but lost to Chatham University 10-7 during their home stretch. Marietta then added two more home losses the first against Baldwin Wallace 14-8 and the second to Washington and Jefferson 22-12. This put the Pios at a 5-5 record heading into a stretch of OAC games for the rest of the season.
This conference stretch started out with a matchup with Mount Union. The Purple Raiders outscored the Pioneers in ever quarter defeating Marietta 22-11. The Pios bounced back with a strong performance as they faced Muskingum University. Marietta shutout Muskingum in the last two quarters and got a 23-8 victory.
While the Pioneers were 6-6, they struggled for the rest of the season losing their last four games. This streak started with a 18-13 loss to Ohio Northern and was followed by a 22-8 loss to Capital in the last home game of the season. John Carroll beat Marietta 20-9 and the season ended once again with a loss to Otterbein. Despite a comeback, the Cardinals outscored the Pioneers 15-6.
While the team finished with a 6-10 record, they showed glimpses of dominance and were a highly offensive team. Many of their losses came in close games and if they went the other way the Pios would be in the OAC Tournament. Pioneer lacrosse will be back next season ready to make it back to the OAC Tournament.
