A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage
Marathon girls soccer defeats Oxford in the first round of sectionals. (Photo provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice).
A close game between the 6th-seeded Marathon Lady Olympians and 11th-seed Oxford Academy was decided in penalty kicks after the game ended in a 1-1 tie.
Marathon ended up winning the penalty kick shootout with a score of 3-2 in order to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Section IV Class C Tournament.
It was a tight game from the beginning, with both teams heading into halftime scoreless.
Marathon then started the second half with an early 1-0 lead off a goal from sophomore Zoey Gleason. Gleason scored the goal less than a minute after the start of the half.
With their season on the line, Oxford kept pushing forward and ended up tying the game 1-1 with a goal from Jocie Finch.
With a tie on the scoreboard, the game went into a well fought out double overtime. The game was decided through a penalty shootout where Marathon goalkeeper Brenna VanDee came in clutch for the Olympians.
VanDee converted one of Marathon’s penalty kicks to keep them in the game, and then ended up saving two penalty kicks to give Marathon the win.
Marathon goalkeeper Brenna VanDee.
“Taking the kick, I just knew I had to take a breath and place it where I needed to place it,” said VanDee. “I knew that the other (Marathon) kickers were going to do their best. I have them shoot on me all the time at practice, so I knew that we had a good chance”.
Marathon’s Abigail Ensign and Marissa Allen also converted in their penalty kicks to help Marathon get the win.
Here is a score breakdown of the game:
| Team | 1st | 2nd | OT1 | OT2 | PK’s | Final |
| Marathon | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1(3) |
| Oxford | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1(2) |
After the game, Marathon senior captain Anna Hoyt said, “Thank God we made it out. We just need to get ready for the next game and be more focused.”
Marathon senior captain Anna Hoyt.
When asked about her thoughts on the game, Marathon head coach Beth Anne Duncan said, “it’s the postseason. Everyone comes to play, and no one messes around. I told them that they only get one miracle in the postseason, and they got it today. So now we have to go out there and earn it, because it seemed like a miracle kept happening left and right. An Oxford offside call saved us a goal as well.”
Marathon hCoach Beth Anne Duncan.
“There are little things that we need to clean up for sure to go on the road and win a game against Southern Cayuga on Saturday,” added coach Duncan. “Touches, communication, and little things that we can control, we just need to get better.”
According to Section IV, Marathon is scheduled to play the quarterfinal round of sectional play against 3rd-seed Southern Cayuga at Southern Cayuga high school on Saturday (October 21st) at 1pm. (Note: start time of the game is subject to change).
Here are some photos from Wednesday's game (photos provided by Timothy A. Bennett, Owner & Publisher of The Cortland Voice):
A special thank you goes to Visions Federal Credit Union for partnering with us to provide the greater Cortland County community with additional sports coverage
