WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Cardinal women's lacrosse team overcame a rough start and took advantage of strong defense down the stretch Saturday afternoon, overcoming pressure from Heidelberg to eventually pull out an 11-9 win at Memorial Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Heidelberg netted two quick goals from leading scorer Angela Lulejian within the first five minutes before the Cardinals found their offense.
   
• Otterbein then scored five straight goals, two coming from senior leader Abby Smoot, as part of  5-1 run to ultimately take a 6-5 lead at intermission. The Student Princes (7-5, 1-2 OAC) sliced that deficit with a goal just two seconds before the halftime buzzer.
   
• The Cardinals held on the rest of the way, opening a 9-5 lead midway through the second half and fighting off a Heidelberg rally. The visitors scored three-straight times to make the game 9-8 with 13:33 remaining.
   
• Smoot and teammate Kiera Mulcahy responded with goals down the stretch, extending the cushion and allowing Otterbein to emerge.
   

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Smoot led all scorers with five goals, reaching that mark for the third time this season, while Mulcahy (2G, 1A) and Cameron Finnegan (1G, 2A) added three-point days.
   
• The Cardinals had a good day without control of the ball, winning 18 of the 22 draw controls to retain offensive possession and also forcing 24 Heidelberg turnovers. Now Crowley corralled a game-high five draws while Kenna Walquist caused three TO's.
   
• Otterbein's defense had a strong afternoon, allowing just 19 shots from the Student Princes, as goalies Reese Burke and Allison Rhoads split time in the cage,
   

UP NEXT:

The Cardinals move to 4-8 on the season, picking up their first conference win, and will travel to Marietta next Wednesday before taking on cross-town rival Capital Saturday at Memorial Stadium.