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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein women's lacrosse team dropped its first Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) game, 16-6, Saturday afternoon against Mount Union. The Purple Raiders have won the league title five-straight seasons and were picked as the preseason favorite to win once again. 

Mount Union (7-1 overall, 1-0 OAC) was able to get on the scoreboard quickly, as Danielle Rohrman scored one minute into the game. The Purple Raiders added another goal three minutes later to build a 2-0 edge.

The Purple Raiders seemed in control, but Julia Karas beat a couple of defenders and scored Otterbein's first goal to make the score 2-1. 

The Cardinal (2-7 overall, 0-1 OAC) defense stepped up and slowed down the potent Mount Union attack by only allowing one more goal for the next 15 minutes of action.

The Purple Raiders attack started to click by scoring five goals in a five minute span to lead 7-1, as Mount Union would add four more goals before the break to lead 11-1. Heading into the locker room, Mount Union owned a 20-12 advantage in total shots, as the Cardinals saw a few opportunities and were only able to convert once.

The Cardinals found their best success in the second half by scoring two man-down goals, as Macey Buchanan and Julie Platz each scored a goal. Cameron Finnegan scored the final Otterbein goal with 1:49 left in the game to make the score 15-6 and stop the running clock.

Allison Rhoads was able to make six saves against the Purple Raider attack and Otterbein attempted 10 shots compared to Mount Union's 11 in the second half. 

The Cardinals will travel to Delaware, Ohio to battle with Ohio Wesleyan Wednesday night at 7 p.m. Otterbein won a tight contest 11-9 last season against the Battling Bishops.