Box Score SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Otterbein women's lacrosse team dropped a tightly-contested matchup Saturday afternoon against Wittenberg. Abby Smoot, who set the record for points in a season last year, tallied a game-high nine points.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Wittenberg scored the first two goals, but the Cardinals responded by scoring three unanswered. The Cardinal lead was short lived as the Tigers scored the equalizing goal 17 seconds later. The two squads would trade goals for the remainder of the half. 
• Heading into the locker room, Smoot recorded five goals on six shots while dishing out two assists in the first half, as the teams were tied at eight.
• Cameron Finnegan notched her first goal of the afternoon to give Otterbein a 9-8 edge with 28:32 left. Once again the Tigers answered quickly, this time Gabby Zysik responded in seven seconds. Nine seconds after the tying goal, Zysik scored once again to give Wittenberg a 10-9 advantage. 
• The Cardinals put together one final attempt when they were trailing by three with 38 seconds remaining, as Julia Karas scored on a free position opportunity. Karas had another free position shot 19 seconds later, but goalie Joanna Stecz made the save.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Smoot finished the afternoon with nine points, which is the second most in a single game in program history. The senior tied her career best of six goals in a single game. 
• Goalkeeper Allison Rhoads set a new career-high of 13 saves, passing her previous mark of 12 which happened last season against Capital.  
• This was the second meeting all-time, as the first matchup was back in 2012 where the Tigers came out victorious by a 19-9 final.
• Wittenberg owned a 22-10 advantage in draw controls, as the Cardinals attempted 19 shots in the second half compared to 13 in the first.  

 
NEXT UP:

The Cardinals will play at Transylvania next Saturday before two games in Florida during spring break. The first opponent will be the United States Merchant Marine Academy on March 4 at 11 a.m. Two days later, Otterbein will take on Oneonta at 11 a.m.