Box Score

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University women's soccer team suffered a tough loss in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) semifinals Thursday evening, finishing on the bottom end of a 2-1 decision with upset-minded Baldwin Wallace University.

The top-seeded Cardinals, entering the tournament with a 13-match unbeaten streak after recently winning the OAC regular-season, let a late goal slip in as the No. 4-seeded Yellow Jackets tallied the upset.

Baldwin Wallace (11-8-3) advances to play in Sunday's OAC Tournament Championship at third-seeded Capital University, 1-0 winners Thursday afternoon at No. 2-seed Ohio Northern University.

 

Otterbein, falling to 12-3-4 on the season after losing for the first time since Sept. 10, nearly got on the board in the 11th minute of action when BW keeper Emily Tallmadge mishit a goal kick and an ensuing shot from sophomore Alvi Shivley deflected off the crossbar.

The Jackets took an early lead midway through the opening half, getting Cheryl Bell's sixth goal of the year when she headed in a cross from teammate Courtney Schutz.

Otterbein quickly evened the score less than 10 minutes later when senior defender KyLee Tuchfarber stepped in front of a pass and dribbled 50 yards down near the end-line. She fed a slick pass into the middle of the box, where a sliding Madison Burchfield was there to quickly finish the equalizer for her sixth goal of the season.

The match went into halftime locked at 1-1 and stayed the same until the 82nd minute, when the visitors were awarded a free kick from just outside the top of the box after an accidental Cardinal handball. BW's Kelly Gough gently left a free kick for a nearby Schutz, who ripped a shot that grazed the hands of Otterbein keeper Dana Strimbu and into the upper 90 of the goal.

Otterbein won a handful of corner kicks in the final minutes of regulation, but were unable to find another equalizer as the Yellow Jackets escaped victorious.

The Cardinals finished with advantages of 12-8 on total shots and 11-4 in the corner-kick department. Strimbu had five saves for Otterbein while Tallmadge made two on the opposite end.

Otterbein, ranked fifth in the Great Lakes Region entering the week, will now wait to see if it receives an at-large bid to the upcoming NCAA Tournament. The Division III Selection Show is scheduled for Monday at 1 p.m.