Written Oct. 3, 2009 by Adam Prescott
WESTERVILLE, OHIO – Otterbein, ranked 12th nationally by the NSCAA, used three second-half goals to come from behind and open Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with a 3-1 victory over Wilmington Saturday afternoon at Clements Field.
Wilmington was the only OAC team to defeat Otterbein last season, as the Quakers earned a 1-0 upset of the Cards in 2008 on their home turf.
Wilmington threw the first blow in the 20th minute when Katie Skaleski converted a penalty kick to give the Quakers a 1-0 lead. The score came as a result of an Otterbein defender being called for a foul in the box on a corner kick attempt.
Trailing for only the second time all season, Otterbein responded by out-shooting Wilmington 6-0 over the final 25 minutes of the opening half, with four of those attempts coming from junior forward Lindsey Rudibaugh.
Unfortunately, the Cards were not able to find the back of the net on any of those shots, as the visiting Quakers took a 1-0 lead into halftime.
It didn’t take OC long to strike in the second half, as sophomore forward Sarah Sharbaugh took a cross from teammate Carly Dent just three minutes into the second stanza and deposited it into the goal to even the game.
The goal was Sharbaugh’s first since scoring in a 2-0 victory over Saint Mary’s back on September 11.
Freshman forward Molly Newhouse then scored her first career goal in the 59th minute when she found a loose ball in the box and slipped it past Quaker goalie Maria Larson for the 2-1 lead.
After a Wilmington defender was called for a hand-ball in the box at the 73:13 mark, junior defender Jenny Knox converted her fourth penalty kick in as many attempts this season to extend the Cardinal advantage to 3-1.
The goal capped the scoring for the afternoon as Otterbein grabbed a 3-1 victory to open conference play.
OC held a commanding 22-7 shot advantage, and out-shot Wilmington 19-3 after the Quakers scored the initial goal in the first half.
Larson stopped nine shots for the visitors while Tara Carter came up with three saves between the posts for Otterbein.
The Cardinals held a 4-1 edge in corner kicks and held a 12-4 advantage in shots on goal.
The team returns to action on Wednesday when they hit the road to play Marietta. Game-time for that contest is scheduled for 4 p.m.
