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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's soccer team captured its ninth Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular-season title in 17 seasons, and its first since 2014, by defeating Capital 2-1 in overtime Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
The Cardinals entered the day tied atop of the OAC standings with Ohio Northern, but the Polar Bears lost 2-1 against Mount Union earlier in the afternoon and the Cardinals knew that they controlled their destiny.
Otterbein honored seniors Hayley Hotchkiss and Emma Haussler before the match for their time dedicated to the soccer program over the past four seasons.
The Cardinals were filled with a ton of energy at the start of the game, honoring their seniors and having a chance to clinch the regular-season title, and nearly scored in the first minute as Delaney Earl attempted a header that almost found the back of the net.
Capital took the energy away from the Cards in the fifth minute, as Jordan Fike scored her fifth goal of the season by beating Erin Gordon and scoring on an open net.
The remainder of the half would be a back-and-forth affair with each team nearly scoring multiple times. Nevertheless Capital maintained the one-goal lead entering intermission.
The Cardinals saw their unbeaten conference record slipping away, but defender Holly Bernhold attempted a shot from nearly 40 yards out in the 81st minute. She placed it perfectly in the upper-right part of the goal and above the reach of goalkeeper Kelly Bachmann.
Neither the Cardinals or Crusaders would find the back of the net for the last nine minutes of regulation. Earlier this week, Otterbein tied Ohio Northern 2-2 in overtime and would see its second OT match in four days.
Six minutes into the new period, Priscilla Severance was taken down by a Crusader defender in the box leading to a foul and an ensuing penalty kick. Bella Shivley had the ball at her feet with the clock stopped, and promptly drilled the shot as the Cardinals stormed the field. The sophomore not only helped win the match, but passed Jillian Strimbu and Melanie Evans for the most goals in a single season in program history (15).
Otterbein will wait and see who it plays on Thursday night at home in a semifinal contest. The OAC Tournament starts on Tuesday and the lowest remaining seed will travel to Westerville and battle the Cardinals, who have not lost a match since September 8 against Centre.
