Written Nov. 4, 2009 by Adam Prescott
WESTERVILLE, OHIO – Otterbein, holding the tournament’s top seed and a #11 national ranking, defeated fourth-seeded Capital 1-0 Wednesday afternoon in the semi-finals of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.
The win propels Otterbein back into the tournament championship for the second straight year. The Cardinals will host #2 seed Ohio Northern on Saturday, 2 p.m., at Clements Field.
OC defeated the Polar Bears 2-0 in last year’s final in Westerville, and also earned a 1-0 victory in Ada earlier this season.
Otterbein got on the board early, taking a 1-0 lead when sophomore forward Adrienne Novak corralled a short goal kick by Capital keeper Linley Vermillion and fired it just inside the right post in the 10th minute.
The Cards eventually went to halftime ahead 1-0, holding a 5-1 advantage in shots.
Capital came out firing in the second half, out-shooting the Cardinals 7-1 in the first 14 minutes. However, junior goalkeeper Tara Carter made one save, and multiple other shots were blocked by the Otterbein defense to preserve the 1-0 lead.
Otterbein then went on the attack, just missing an opportunity in the 76th minute when Novak found herself under a free kick deep in the box. Unfortunately for Otterbein, Vermillion was there to make the quick save and keep the game at 1-0.
Capital saw its best chance to even the game at the 82:36 mark when Kaylee Phillips had the ball in the box and Carter was slightly away from the net, but junior defender Jenny Knox was there to stop the shot.
Capital had two shots sail high and wide in the last 90 seconds as Otterbein posted an OAC record 15th shutout this season.
For one of the few times all season, Otterbein was out-shot by its opponent, as the Crusaders held a 13-11 shot advantage as well as a 4-2 edge on corner kicks.
Carter stopped two shots in goal for Otterbein while Vermillion tallied four saves for Capital.
