ADRIAN, Mich. – A pair of early goals, along with clearing a late corner kick, helped Otterbein leave Docking Stadium with a nice road win Wednesday night against host Adrian. The Cardinals held off the pesky Bulldogs down the stretch and prevailed with a narrow 2-1 victory.

Otterbein gets to 4-1 on the season as a result, while Adrian now sits 3-2 on the fall season with its second one-goal defeat.

This marked just the second overall meeting between the schools, with the first one being an absolutely doozy back in 2019. Otterbein led that matchup 3-1 with under five minutes remaining, but two late goals by Adrian ended up forcing a 3-3 tie.

The rematch featured some tense moments as well, but Otterbein played in front practically the entire way after opening strong. Delaney Earl wasted little time getting her squad onto the scoreboard, corralling a bouncing ball off a cross from Grace Weidenhamer in the eighth minute and burying home a shot with her left foot.

The Cardinals built on that momentum shortly thereafter, remaining aggressive in transition to double up the lead. Freshman Bailey Zanella pieced together a nice give-and-go with Earl, who fed a pass back and watched Zanella deliver a quick one-touch with her left foot that snuck inside the opposite post.

Adrian sliced the deficit in half just before intermission when Hailey Stowe converted a smooth header off an incoming corner kick from teammate Kaitlyn Dake. The Bulldogs kept working for an equalizer in the second half while Otterbein looked to remain on top…

Adrian nearly drew even in the 85th minute (off another corner kick) when Leah Courtney's header was cleared off the line by Cardinal defender Jada Leyland. The sophomore headed the ball directly upwards into the crossbar, and then got just enough with her foot to move it out of harm's way.

Lauren Alley, the reigning OAC Offensive Player of the Week, sliced and diced down the stretch to help Otterbein keep possession and bleed out the clock. She was tripped in front of Otterbein's bench in the closing minute, forcing a yellow card to Adrian and allowing the Cardinals to escape.

Otterbein finished with a 15-9 edge in shots, forcing Bulldog keeper Taylor Fischer into making six saves.

The Cardinals will have Homecoming Weekend off to regroup before hosting Kenyon next Wednesday night at Memorial Stadium.