Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

HUNTINGDON, Ala. – Otterbein University women’s lacrosse split a pair of outings on its 2013 spring break trip, moving to 3-2 on the season as a result.

The Cardinals fell, 12-10, at Birmingham-Southern College Sunday afternoon before finishing with a 14-12 win at Huntingdon College (Ala.) on Tuesday.

Otterbein returns to action next Thursday, hosting Kenyon College in its home opening at Clements Field. Starting time is set for 5 p.m.

Game 1 vs. Birmingham

Otterbein jumped ahead of Birmingham with two goals in the opening two minutes, but the Panthers regrouped and later went into halftime with a 6-4 advantage.

BSC went ahead 7-4 with an early second-half goal, but Otterbein responded with five of the netx six goals to grab a 9-8 lead with 17:10 remaining in the game.

The Cards clung to the lead as the game clock ticked under 14:00, but the Panthers eventually tallied four consecutive goals on their way to victory.

Otterbein held advantages in shots (21-20), draw controls (14-9) and ground balls (32-26), but committed 29 turnovers over the 60-minute affair.

Victoria Blatt led the way for Otterbein with a game-high five goals, while Annie Kelly and Alyssa Johnson chipped in three and two scores, respectively. Johnson and defender Chelsea McKeehan tied for the team-led in ground balls (4).
Amanda Amerson tallied a team-high four goals for the hosts.

Karen Brady came up with five saves while allowing seven goals over 42-plus minutes of action before giving away to backup Morgan Stacey, who had two saves over the final 17 minutes and change.


Game 2 vs. Huntingdon

The game was knotted at 3-3 during the early stages, but the Cardinals finished the period on a 5-2 run in taking an 8-6 lead into the break.

Huntingdon tied the game just 77 seconds into the second half, but Otterbein countered with four of the game’s next five goals to open a 13-9 advantage.

The Hawks cut the Cardinal lead to 13-12 with under with 8:53 remaining, but Otterbein’s Courtney Hilfinger netted a goal down the stretch to give her team some breathing room and ultimately help hold on for the win.

Both teams took 37 shots on the day and Otterbein forced the Hawks into eight more turnovers at 24-16. Brady had 13 saves in the contest while Huntingdon goalie Alexis McDonald came up with 19 in her net.

Blatt, and Johnson each scored four times while Hilfinger scored three. Johnson also corralled a team-best six ground balls.

Kelly and freshman Spencer Kurtzahn both had two caused turnovers, with Kelly coming down with three draw controls.