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WESTERVILLE, Ohio - Otterbein claimed victory inside Memorial Stadium on a rainy Wednesday night. The game-winner for the Cardinals came late in the second half on the first-career goal for Camryn Earl, and finalized the victory over the Quakers 2-1.
The Cardinals push ahead to 2-1-1 in the OAC and now have an overall record of 6-4-2.
The Cardinals and Quakers remained even in the first half, neither side able to come out with a goal. Opportunities for both teams were presented in the first half, as Earl had two attempts at scoring along with another pair of shots coming from Payton Kaufman. The Quakers made some offensive pushes as well by attempting two shots.
Morgan Somers gave the Cardinals the lead just five minutes after intermission. A push from the Cardinal offense allowed Anjuli Anderson to slip around the end line and feed a pass back into the box, which gave Bailey Zanella the chance to rip a shot just outside the goal. That attempt banged off the crossbar just in front of Somers who quickly volleyed the ricocheted ball into the back of the net.
The Quakers answered shortly after in the 65th minute. Goalkeeper Lauren Galloway earned a rare assist after she played a ball deep from Wilmington territory. The ball took a perfect glide off the slippery turf and found its way through Otterbein's back line. Alex Wilson chased down the through ball and found herself facing off against Ella Schwertfager. Wilson placed the ball just out of reach for Schwertfager and evened up the score for the Quakers.
Both teams continued to push hard for a winning goal, and after 22 minutes of pressure the Cardinals found their game-winner. A free kick right in front of the home bench created the opportunity for Otterbein. Payton Kaufman lofted a ball into the 18-yard box where a Wilmington defender headed the ball in an attempt to clear it.
The ball instead found Earl, whose older sister (Delaney) is well known around the program after scoring 50 times during her All-American career. This time, it was the younger sister who had her first kodak moment by firing a beautiful one-touch directly out of the air and into the left side of the goal.
INTERVIEWS WITH EARL AND ANDERSON HERE
Otterbein controlled most of the game offensively, posting a 16-3 advantage in total shots and 6-1 on frame. The Cards also took all but one of the 11 corner kicks seen throughout the match.
The Cardinals beat Wilmington for a 12th-straight time, and will look to continue racking up victories this coming weekend as Heidelberg visits Memorial Stadium. First kick is slated for 2 p.m.
