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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's soccer team delivered an exciting and memorable performance Saturday night inside Memorial Stadium, using an overtime goal from sophomore Priscilla Severance to emerge with a 1-0 victory over visiting Ohio Northern in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament Championship.

In what was another thrilling showdown between two premier programs within a 10-day span, the Cardinals prevailed in a back-and-forth slugfest to claim its first OAC Tournament trophy since 2010. As a result, the team receives an automatic bid to compete in the upcoming NCAA Division III Championships.

"I don't think I've had a chance yet to realize what this one feels like," said head coach Brandon Koons, who wins his sixth OAC Tournament at the helm. "We have had some wonderful and exciting moments in this program throughout the years. The feelings you have right now, here on the field, are the biggest ones."

Otterbein, playing its third overtime match in the past four outings, runs its unbeaten streak to nearly two months and now stands 16-2-1 on the season.

Both sides felt each other out during a very tight first half which saw five corner kicks, just four combined shots and trading of possession across the field.

"Championship matches can be really tight affairs," Koons said. "Crazy things happen and you have to make certain things happen. At the end of the night, I want the players feeling like they did everything they could regardless of the result. They did everything they could and it finally came to fruition."

The contest opened up as the second half progressed, with Ohio Northern (14-4-1) seeing some prime opportunities in the early stages. Cardinal goalie Erin Gordon made a diving save on a header just a few minutes after halftime, and then tallied two more on a rapid sequence during the 67th minute. She saved an initial shot from afar and then quickly regrouped just two seconds later to bat away a follow-up attempt.

Otterbein countered on several occasions and nearly jumped ahead at the 80:51 mark, when rising freshman Delaney Earl curved a shot from 25 yards that deflected off the left post and back into the field of play. The match eventually headed for an extra session.

The Cards seized their moment just 57 seconds into the first OT, as sophomore Emily Ganz slipped free from a defender on the far sideline and lofted a shot that ricocheted off the cross bar, then off the post, and down in the box. Severance, who scored both goals in a recent 2-2 draw at Ohio Northern in the regular season, was there to clean up the play and erupt the Cardinal sideline.

"My teammates set me up a lot," Severance said. "They work hard and I want to work even harder for them. This was a surreal night and I'm not sure I have felt anything like it. I'm just very thankful to be part of this team and this amazing moment."

"Priscilla led our team in scoring last season but experienced some frustration this year during certain stretches," Koons explained. "I tell our kids that the goals don't matter as much as their work rate. She fights, scrapes and battles for everything on the field. The reason we win is because of players like her who don't stop working."

Otterbein's last tournament triumph back in 2010 coincidentally followed a similar script, as the Cards beat Ohio Northern by a 1-0 score on an overtime goal from Tara Smith in the 93rd minute.

The Cards finished this one with a slim 9-7 edge in total shots while Ohio Northern held a 6-5 advantage in corner kicks. Severance deservingly earned a spot on the OAC's All-Tournament Team alongside Gordon, midfielder Bella Shivley and defender Cassidy Nicol.

Otterbein will now look to keep its momentum rolling, as the team has not lost since the first week of September which saw road defeats to nationally-ranked Denison and Centre. The Cards were outscored 11-1 during that stretch.   

"That was a rough week," Koons reflected. "I think that breaks a lot of teams or players, but it didn't break our kids. We played four games on the road and just encountered some tough luck. That can happen early in the season, but we knew it could be fixed and I saw everyone react very mature about it. We have come a long way and I'm excited to keep this thing going."

The Cardinals will learn of their NCAA fate come Monday afternoon during the Selection Show at 1:30 p.m. Stay tuned to otterbeincardinals.com and our social media outlets for ensuing details.