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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinal women's soccer squad continued its routine of playing some extra time Tuesday evening, fighting back to force overtime and eventually prevail with a 2-1, double overtime, victory against Wilmington College.

The Cardinals, improving to 9-2-4 overall and 5-0-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), received a pair of late goals from leading-scorer Jillian Strimbu in what was their seventh overtime match this fall.

Otterbein now sits tied with Baldwin Wallace atop the league standings after BW played John Carroll to a scoreless draw. The Tan and Cardinal, unbeaten in their last 10 outings, will travel to Berea Saturday night for a critical 7 p.m. matchup with Baldwin Wallace.

Otterbein nearly scored in the first minute of action against Wilmington (6-10, 0-6 OAC) when Erica Meier appeared to have beaten the goalkeeper but saw her slow-dribbling shot saved by a Quaker defender. Madison Burchfield's ensuing shot was then blocked.

An upset-minded Wilmington squad got on the board in the 21st minute, watching Lauren Hamrock beat a defender up the left side before chipping a shot around another defender and over the head of Cardinal goalkeeper Dana Strimbu.

Otterbein continued to press forward and search for the equalizer from that point on, seeing multiple scoring chances but coming up empty each time. The resilient group finally drew even with under four minutes remaining after Abbey Miltko began the scoring sequence by lofting a shot that bounced off the crossbar. Strimbu was there in prime position to rebound the deflection and beat the keeper.

"We just tried to keep creating chances down the stretch and hope one of them would go in," Strimbu said of the play. "Everyone was working hard and it just so happened that I was there to put that one in."

Both sides played through a scoreless first overtime session before Otterbein ultimately emerged victorious with under three minutes remaining in the match after corner kick. Alyssa Spencer's header was cleared off the line by a Wilmington defender, but the player was whistled for a hand-ball that resulted in a Cardinal penalty kick. Strimbu calmly stepped up to bury the difference maker, marking the 12th game-winning goal of her career.

"I just tried to stay calm because it was a big moment for us," Strimbu said when asked about the penalty kick. "It was important to keep my composure and finish the match, because we had been working so hard, and for so long, to get to that point."

The match was a near replica of last year's contest in Wilmington, where the Quakers scored early before Otterbein tallied goals in the 88th and 104th minutes.

Otterbein nearly tripled up the Quakers in total shots this time around at 22-8, taking eight corner kicks compared to Wilmington's four. Taylor Franklin had six saves for the visitors while Dana Strimbu made four of her own for the Tan and Cardinal.

Otterbein will now turn its attention to Saturday's important matchup at Baldwin Wallace, with the winner assuming sole possession of first place in the OAC heading into the final week of regular-season play.

"We'll need to refocus and make sure we play our style of game up at Baldwin Wallace," Strimbu said. "It's obviously a big match, so it will be important to go up there, open strong and continue giving it our all."