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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Otterbein University women's soccer tallied its second dramatic victory of the week Saturday afternoon, getting a double overtime goal from freshman Madison Burchfield to defeat visiting University of Mount Union, 2-1, at Clements Field.
The Cardinals, who also escaped Wilmington College Tuesday night with a 2-1 double overtime win, improve to 10-5-1 overall and 5-2 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with the win. As a result, the team now sits in a four-way tie atop the league standings with Capital, John Carroll, and Ohio Northern.
"We are all in this together and playing as a complete team right now," Burchfield said afterwards. "These last two wins have really helped us come together even more because we're doing it for one another."
Otterbein controlled nearly the entire first half, seeing multiple opportunities to score on scrums in the box but coming up empty each time. The Cardinals held a 16-3 shot advantage throughout the first 45 minutes, with all three attempts from Mount Union coming in the final 20 seconds.
Otterbein goalkeeper Dana Strimbu saved a long Purple Raider shot that almost sailed over her head, and gathered herself to stop a follow-up attempt seconds later. The play was not finished as defender Amanda Case was forced to clear a third shot off the line to keep the match scoreless entering halftime.
The Cards continued to dominate possession throughout the second half, finally getting a goal from leading-scorer Jillian Strimbu at the end of the 69th minute when she took a ball from Lindy Stemen and finished lower right.
Mount Union almost evened the match with just over six minutes remaining after Dana Strimbu collided with an incoming forward, but Case was there to block a shot yet again.
Otterbein appeared to be in line for the win, but Mount Union tied the match with 95 seconds remaining after Shannon Evans finished a corner kick from teammate Carolyn Balzano.
"We tried to stay focused on our goal of getting three points today," Burchfield added. "We put the Mount Union goal out of our minds and just prepared for overtime. We wanted to focus on ourselves at that point and not worry about what had just happened."
The Cardinals nearly ended the match on two occasions prior to the golden goal. First, senior Morgan Hendrickson struck a bending shot that hit the left post and trickled across the goal line before staying out, followed by a Burchfield shot in the box deflecting off the crossbar.
The Otterbein faithful erupted moments later as Burchfield redeemed herself, converting a header off a corner kick from junior Alex Ancona in the 107th minute to end the match.
"I was very frustrated and sometimes I have the tendency to get my head down," Burchfield said. "But I knew that our best chance would probably come off a set piece, so when we won that corner kick I knew someone could make a crucial play. It was about time I got my head on the ball."
Otterbein finished with a commanding 33-4 shot advantage and also held a 17-1 edge on corner kicks. Dana Strimbu made three saves in the net for the Cards while Mount Union's Maria Favorite, the league-leader in goals-against average and save percentage entering the match, collected eight for the visitors.
The Cardinals will enter a crucial week ahead, traveling to play matches at Marietta College on Tuesday and then rival Capital come Saturday afternoon.
Prior to the match, Hendrickson, Case, Jill Knox and Amanda Carlisle were recognized for their contributions to the program as part of Senior Day.
