Four members of the Marietta College women’s soccer team have been named to the 2026 All-Ohio Athletic Conference team, the conference announced Friday morning, capping a season in which the Pioneers reached the OAC Tournament for the first time since 2003, Marietta College Athletics reported.
Senior defender Tati Grigoryan of Sun Valley, California, was named to the first team for the second straight year. Senior goalkeeper Francesca Agliolo of San Gabriel, California, and junior forward Jaylyn Thornton of Pataskala, Ohio, were named to the second team, and senior defender Myah Byers of Delaware, Ohio, was a third-team honoree, according to Marietta College Athletics.
“It’s incredible to continue to get this kind of recognition from the conference,” Marietta head coach Zack Votra told Marietta College Athletics. “We had five all-conference selections a year ago, and to add four more this year is fantastic. It shows the continued growth of the program and is a testament to how competitive this group has been.”
Grigoryan anchored the Pioneers’ defense while playing through injury and taking on the opponent’s most dangerous attackers, and she also scored two goals on the season, according to the college. “Tati is an incredible defender,” Votra told Marietta College Athletics. “She has really good instincts and is lock-down in 1v1 situations. She’s played the entire year with an obliterated knee and is still one of the best in the conference.”
Agliolo, the reigning OAC Goalkeeper of the Year, played 18 matches and ranked second in the conference with a .833 save percentage, fourth with a 1.10 goals-against average and 5.28 saves per game, and recorded six shutouts, the college reported. Thornton, a first-year transfer from Watkins Memorial, led Marietta with 10 goals — fourth in the conference — and 23 points, and her five goals against Muskingum tied a program record, according to Marietta College Athletics. Byers earned her second consecutive postseason honor after moving to a new position, scoring once with three assists.
The honors also carry an Ohio flavor at both ends of the field: Thornton starred at Watkins Memorial in Pataskala before transferring to Marietta, and Byers came to the Pioneers from Delaware Hayes in Delaware — two Ohio products earning all-conference recognition for an Ohio program, according to Marietta College Athletics.
The Pioneers finished 6-10-3 overall, but the record only tells part of the story: qualifying for the OAC Tournament ended a postseason drought stretching back to 2003, and back-to-back seasons of four or more all-conference selections point to a program on the rise in Marietta. With Thornton returning next season, the Pioneers will look to turn this year’s breakthrough into a deeper tournament run.
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