Box Score BEXLEY, Ohio - The Otterbein women's soccer team came up short to cross-town rival Capital on Saturday night, falling 3-2 on a late goal by the Crusaders at Bernlohr Stadium.
The Cardinals, who move to 6-5 overall and 2-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play, snap their four-game win streak with just their second loss in the past eight games.
Capital struck first in the seventh minute with a goal from Becca Cartmill, capitalizing off a forced turnover inside the Cardinal box and scoring the ball to the right corner of the goal. The Cardinals quickly responded just over a minute later, as
Megan McCabe netted her third goal of the year off a Crusader turnover followed by an assist from
Erica Meier in the Capital box.
Jillian Strimbu then gave Otterbein its first lead of the game in the 23rd minute, as
Abbey Miltko set her up for a shot that was burried from the left side of the box to the far post. The goal was Strimbu's second in as many games since returning from injury.
Otterbein led Capital 6-4 in shots through the first 45 minutes of action, while also capturing the corner kick margin 4-2.
The Cardinals held their one goal advantage for 35 minutes into the second frame, before Gennifer Vandeventer tied the game at 2-2 off a shot to the near post from 15 yards outside the Otterbein box. Neither team regained the lead until the 80th minute when Capital's Monique Hanayik assisted Cartmill for her second goal of the game off a corner kick that was initially deflected in the Cardinal box.
Otterbein managed to find one more shot attempt with just over a minute remaining, but to no avail, as the Cards lost for the first time in over three weeks.
The Crusaders edged the Cardinals in shots, 10-8, while Otterbein ended the match with a narrow 5-4 advantage in corner kicks. Cardinal goalkeeper
Dana Strimbu totaled three saves on 10 shots faced in just her first loss in six games.
The Cardinals return home on Oct. 13 to host Ohio Northern in an OAC battle at Memorial Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
