Second Half Attack Seals No. 2 Marian's Outright CL Championship

FORT WAYNE, Ind. - The Marian women's soccer team completed its dominance over the Crossroads League on Wednesday night, as Marian finished a wire-to-wire regular-season championship with their 3-0 victory over Saint Francis. Marian's fifth Crossroads League Championship in program history comes as the team finishes the regular season 16-0-1, while going a dominant 8-0-1 in league play. 

The first half of Wednesday's match would go scoreless, as the Knights were unable to capitalize on any of their seven shot opportunities. Katie Koger, Laney Harshany, and Marian Corro Celma each took attempts on goal in the half, unable to convert a goal in the first half of true fall weather. 

In the second half, the tide would turn to Marian for good, as the team took early possession and launched three early shots near the goal. In the 57th minute, Marian would finally break the draw, with Taylor Wert connecting on what would stand as the game-winning goal. The goal was the springboard for the rest of the offense, as the Knights totaled 10 additional shots after the sophomore's score. 

In the 67th minute, Katie Koger drove in an insurance goal after collecting a pass from Wert, while seven minutes later, the sophomore would knock in the third goal of the match for Marian. Wert's goal in the 74th minute came on a free kick from Kiley Jones, with the senior collecting the assist. 

The Knights would go on to add four more shots to their second half totals before the match concluded in Marian's 3-0 victory.

Taylor Wert scored five points in the win, scoring two goals while adding one assist. Koger scored her goal on one of her two attempts, while Wert's two goals came on four shots. Allie Tredway and Kiley Jones would join Wert in the assist category, and Marian Corro Celma had the second-highest shot volume with three in the match.

As the table settles and shifts to the Crossroads League Tournament, Marian will turn their eyes to a rematch of this very contest, hosting the University of Saint Francis next Wednesday in the CL Quarterfinals. The match will begin at 7:00 p.m., and will be pay-per-view on the ISC Sports Network. The Knights are the one seed in the tournament and have home-field advantage. 

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