DELAWARE, Ohio– The No. 15 nationally-ranked Otterbein women's soccer team was back in action tonight visiting Ohio Wesleyan. The Cardinals were able to remain hot and improve to 4-0 on their young season, besting the host Bishops 2-1.

The match started slowly with both teams looking to get their feet under them, the Cardinals especially after having eight days off.

The Cards eventually found their stride and were able to strike first as Erin Gordon grabbed a ball sent wide of the net and fired it out to her running mates. Emily Ganz found herself streaking ahead of the Bishop defenders staying on side to eventually chip a shot over the head of OWU keeper Taylor Floyd in the 12th minute. The Cards continued playing tough defense and carried the 1-0 lead into the break.

The second half saw the Cards display nearly perfect tic-tac-toe passing. The flawless passing led to Ganz sending a laser from her right foot across the face of the keeper Floyd where Bella Shivley was in perfect position to head the ball into the back of the Bishops net putting the Cards up 2-0 in the 56th minute.  

The Bishops (3-2) were able to battle back and make things interesting. In the 81st minute Ashley Smiley was able to shoot past Gordon, giving up just her second goal of the season, to make the score 2-1. From there the Cards continued to play strong defense turning the Bishops away at every opportunity.

With just eight seconds remaining the Bishops saw possibly their best chance of the match. Sending a ball in from the corner the Bishops were able to gather the rebound and force Regina Severance to step up and head the ball away as time ran out to preserve the Cardinal victory.

Gordon stood tall for the Cardinal defense saving five of the seven Bishop shots on net. The Cardinal offense outshot the hosts 18-12, also putting seven shots on frame.

The Cardinals will be back in action Saturday when they once again hit the road, traveling to Gambier to face-off with Kenyon at 4 p.m.