Marietta junior Grace Spencer (40) scored two goals as the Tigers defeated Dover 3-0 in an Ohio Division III regional semifinal, Tuesday at West Muskingum High School in Zanesville. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – Layer by layer, the Marietta girls soccer team kept chipping away at the dam. When the Tigers finally busted through, the dam broke and the gush of water took Dover with it.

In an Ohio Division III regional semifinal at West Muskingum High School, Marietta dictated possession throughout the evening but Dover managed to keep the Tigers scoreless even after a goal was taken away with 12 minutes remaining in regulation.

All that did was fuel the fire as Marietta scored three goals in the matter of six minutes, which led to the Tigers’ 3-0 win and secure a berth in the Elite Eight.

“That’s kind of been our style all year long – we get opportunities and we think shots are wide open then think how did we miss that,” Marietta coach Bill Mannix after his club improved to 17-2-1. “At halftime, we just had to settle down a little bit. I think in the first half we were a little discombobulated. We were playing a lot of long balls, so we just settled them down at halftime.

“We played a much better second half. We started possessing the ball again, and we were looking for opportunities instead of just launching the ball.”

Marietta’s Fiona Fowler (5) celebrates with teammates following the Tigers’ 3-0 win over Dover in an Ohio Division III regional semifinal, Tuesday at West Muskingum High School in Zanesville. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Marietta meets Akron Archbishop Hoban in the regional finals. The match is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Dover Middle School’s Crater Stadium.

“It doesn’t matter who we play at this point – they are going to be a very good team,” Mannix said. “Our team has a tremendous amount of drive and focus, and plays hard.”

Marietta junior Grace Spencer scored the first two goals – the first arriving at the 9:52 mark of the second half. Less than two minutes later, she added another goal off a corner kick from Taylor Addis.

Just for good measure, her sister Annalise Spencer tacked on an insurance goal using her backside off a free kick from Addis to steer the ball past the keeper with 4:16 remaining in regulation.

Marietta keeper Maura Misel turned in a clean slate. The sophomore faced only three shots on net.

Marietta’s Caroline Cortopassi (2) tracks down a loose ball during an Ohio Division regional semifinal against Dover, Tuesday at West Muskingum High School in Zanesville. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“Against Fairfield Union (in the district final), we scored with 15 minutes left, so I figured this game would be something like that,” Grace Spencer said. “But honestly, I did not expect for us to get three goals in that amount of time.

“That first goal, I think everyone was just relieved that we actually had one. On the second goal, I don’t even remember who it was off of. I remember it being a corner kick. Izzy (Riggs) kind of dropped it back then moved out of the way so I could shoot it.”

The only shot on goal turned in by Dover in the first half occurred with 23 minutes remaining before halftime. The Tornadoes’ best opportunity, however, occurred 11 minutes later when Marietta was whistled for a foul. The Tornadoes’ Abigail Lane set up for the free kick 20 yards from the net, but her shot attempt sailed wide.

The halftime talk from the Marietta coaching staff stuck with the players as the energy level heightened while still staying settled in the offense.

“In the second half, we were just trying to make more run throughs and keep the ball on the ground and pass it around instead of trying to hit it over the defense,” Grace Spencer said.

Marietta’s Campbell Stanley (36) and Dover’s Cashlyn Harmon (22) converge on a loose ball during an Ohio Division III regional semifinal, Tuesday at West Muskingum High School in Zanesville. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Marietta kept life busy for Dover keeper Savannah Blind as the freshman came up with 13 saves – including a controversial call which wiped a goal off the scoreboard for the Tigers.

With 12 minutes left in regulation and the match still scoreless, the ball got kicked around near the Dover keeper, who made the initial save then bobbled the ball trying to secure it. It appeared the ball slipped through her grasp across the line before she finally gained a handle. Marietta celebrated, but the official waved off the goal.

“I’m still not sure what they were looking at or why that goal was called back – I’ll look at the film,” Mannix said.

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com

Marietta’s Lexi Addis (10) plays the ball off her knee during the Tigers’ 3-0 win over Dover in an Ohio Division III regional semifinal, Tuesday at West Muskingum High School in Zanesville. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Marietta’s Blaire Reed (1) gets ready for a header during the Tigers’ Ohio Division III regional semifinal against Dover, Tuesday at West Muskingum High School in Zanesville. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)