The Wilmington College women's soccer team unleashed their fair share of shots Saturday as the Fightin' Quakers scored three second-half goals to open Ohio Athletic Conference action with a 3-1 victory over Marietta on Townsend Field in Williams Stadium.
"The ball just wouldn't fall for us in the first half," said Wilmington head coach Steve Spirk. "We got a lot of chances; the goalie made some good saves, and we missed some chances. They got one look, and hit a great shot. We got down with 30 minutes to go, but we didn't panic; just continued to play our game."
For almost 60 minutes, the game had an eerily similar feel to it.
"Last year we lost to this team 1-0 on the road, it was very similar," said Spirk. "We outshot them, and in many respects – outplayed them – and lost 1-0. That could have happened tonight, but this team has strong character and they showed it."
Wilmington launched 18 shots, eight of which on goal, in the first, while holding the Pioneers without a single shot. It didn't take long for Marietta to find a shot in the second half, and they made it count as MC took the lead in the 49th minute.
The Fightin' Quakers continued to put pressure on the Marietta defense, and were finally able to break through in the 59th minute. Freshman Kayla Marrerro's (West Carrollton, OH/Middletown Christian) free kick found the foot of sophomore Alyssa Reule (Miamisburg, OH/Miamisburg), who tapped the goal into the goal. It was her first goal of the season.
"I felt we had a good chance (to win) once we (scored)," said Spirk. "Once we tied it, we felt we were going to put a couple more in goal. The shot we scored on, we made a couple adjustments and moved a couple people around."
Wilmington unceasing pressure just peppered the MC goalkeeper with shots as the Fightin' Quakers finished with 38 shots, including 21 on goal.
Freshman Taylor Leake (Beavercreek, OH/Beavercreek) finally gave WC the lead with a goal in the 83rd minute, and freshman Hannah Greaney (Dayton, OH/Carroll) caught the keeper too far off her line and chipped a goal into the back of the net with one second remaining.
Winners of five straight, Wilmington (7-3 overall, 1-0 OAC) travels to Ohio Northern 7 p.m. Wednesday in Ohio Athletic Conference action.
