UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – It was a highly-anticipated rematch between the two-best teams in the rugged Ohio Athletic Conference. Otterbein and John Carroll felt destined to meet again, and they did Saturday night in the OAC Tournament Championship at Don Shula Stadium…

It took more than 90 minutes of regulation to decide a winner between the two powerhouses and, in the end, the host Blue Streaks would escape with a legit overtime goal to win their fourth-consecutive tournament crown.

Just 81 seconds into the first overtime session, JCU's Benjamin Hryszko scored to give John Carroll the league's automatic qualifier spot into the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Otterbein, ranked No. 9 nationally and now 14-1-4 after its first loss of the season, should still be in line for an at-large bid to the Big Dance.

The NCAA Selection Show will take place Monday afternoon at 1:30 p.m.

Both teams laced up for a second act following the regular-season showdown back in Westerville on October 13, where the two sides played to an entertaining 0-0 draw at Memorial Stadium.

This time around, the squad combined for 25 fouls in what became a physical/tactical battle as the night progressed. Both sides had a few key opportunities with Otterbein pressing forward nicely in the second half.

However, John Carroll found a way to come up with the difference-making play shortly into the first overtime. The Blue Streaks flipped the field with possession and Nicholas Graeca fed a cross into the box… where Hryszko weathered a Cardinal defender and struck a header over 6-foot-5 Otterbein keeper Andrew McIlvoy into the net.

John Carroll finished with a narrow 10-9 shot advantage on the night, and both teams attempted three corner kicks. Silver Abraham, Mark Wischmeyer and Liam Heard were named to the All-Tournament Team as a result of their efforts.

Stay tuned to otterbeincardinals.com and all of our social media outlets for continued coverage heading into next week.