PHOTO GALLERY

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The highly anticipated women's soccer matchup between league powers Otterbein and Ohio Northern found itself in another slugfest Thursday night, as the pair of unbeatens battled to a scoreless draw during rainy conditions at Memorial Stadium.

As a result, both teams now stand 7-0-1 on the spring with the regular-season finale scheduled on Sunday. Otterbein will head across town to play rival Capital, while ONU travels to Alliance for a contest with Mount Union.

Overtime has now come into play in five of the past six meetings in this series, with only one result since 2009 being decided by more than one goal. Both teams met in the 2018 and 2019 OAC Tournament Championship, each scoring a "golden goal" on its home field.

The 2021 showdown followed a similar script, with both sides working to settle in over the initial portion of the first half. ONU saw a pair of free-kick opportunities thwarted early, including one off the midsection of Cardinal defender Regina Severance.

Otterbein started creating opportunities to conclude the first half, forcing Polar Bear goalkeeper Kristy Catrine into making five saves before intermission.

The second-half possession was even more in favor of Otterbein, which pushed forward on multiple occasions to apply pressure. Unfortunately, a handful of corner kicks and set pieces couldn't find the back of the net.

Otterbein saw maybe its best chance in the 107th minute, when a rope from Delaney Earl was saved by Catrine and ricocheted back into the box. Freshman Anjuli Anderson was there for a potential rebound, but encountered a difficult challenge with a defender and her shot was narrowly blocked.

The Cardinals doubled up ONU in total shots at 22-10, including a 19-8 edge in regulation. A combined 22 fouls were whistled in yet another physical showdown.

Catrine was steady between the pipes for Ohio Northern with 10 saves. Otterbein keeper Erin Gordon was forced to make just one official stop, but came out of the net to corral another few loose balls.

First kick over in Bexley between Otterbein and Capital is slated for 2 p.m. The Crusaders (recently losing 1-0 to ONU) are currently 6-1 on the season and will be looking to make things even more interesting atop the conference standings.