WESTERVILLE, OHIO - Otterbein, ranked third nationally, will host Calvin (MI) Friday afternoon at Clements Field in the first round of the NCAA Division III women's soccer tournament. Starting time is set for 11 a.m.
Allegheny (PA) and Washington-St. Louis will also play a first round contest at Clements Field, beginning at 1:30 p.m. or a half hour after the completion of the first match. Washington-St.Louis lost 1-0 to Messiah (PA) in the national championship match last season.
The winners will return to square off in the second round Saturday at 1 p.m.
Otterbein, under 12th-year Head Coach Brandon Koons, returns to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time in the last seven seasons. The team, coming off back-to-back appearances in the Sweet 16, fell to Messiah 1-0 in double overtime a year ago.
The Cardinals, 6-3-2 all-time in NCAA play, are paced offensively by senior forward Lindsey Rudibaugh, who has eight goals and five assists to her credit this season. She assisted on the game-winning goal in the conference tournament championship on Saturday.
Junior Adrienne Novak and sophomore Molly Kroger have contributed seven and six goals, respectively, while seniors Tara Smith and Jenny Knox each have four. Smith registered the game-winner in overtime Saturday to give the Cards the automatic bid.
Knox and fellow seniors Laura Vasbinder and Hannah Fairbanks anchor a defense that leads the country with 17 shutouts, having only allowed three goals all season for an average of 0.15 per contest.
Senior goalkeeper Tara Carter ranks fourth nationally in goals-against average, holding a save-percentage of .927.
Calvin, under ninth-year Head Coach Mark Recker, is making its sixth-straight NCAA tournament appearance and eighth overall.
The Knights punched a ticket to the tournament this past weekend with a 3-1 victory over Alma in the championship match of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Conference tournament. The team received votes in the latest NSCAA/HendricksCars.com national poll, and came in at #14 in the most recent D3soccer.com rankings.
Calvin is 7-3-5 all-time in the big dance, including trips to the Elite 8 in 2006 and 2009, falling 2-1 to Washington-St. Louis in last year's quarterfinal.
The Knights are led by senior midfielder/forward Carly Prins, who has notched 12 goals and two assists this season. Four other players have totaled ten or more points as well.
Freshman goalkeeper Ashton Hearn has seen success between the posts this season, racking up 13 shutouts and boasting a goals-against average of 0.31. She has a save percentage of .895.
While the two teams have never met in postseason play, the Knights did hand Otterbein a 3-0 loss at the beginning of last season at the Ohio Northern Classic. Prins had one goal in the contest while Jillian Honderd was responsible for the other two.
The teams had three common opponents this season in Kalamazoo, St. Mary's (IN), and Ohio Wesleyan.
Otterbein defeated all three schools while Calvin defeated both St. Mary's and Ohio Wesleyan, and split its two matchups with Kalamazoo.
General admission to the match is $6. Tickets for students, senior citizens, and military personnel are $3 while children between the ages of 3-12 will be admitted for $2.
Visit the Otterbein women's soccer schedule page and choose the details tab for options on following the contest.
