BEXLEY, Ohio – A valiant effort by Otterbein ran out of steam midway through the second half Wednesday night in semifinal action of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament, as the Cardinals lost ground to high-powered Capital.

The Cardinals, seeded fourth in the six-team bracket, trailed just 8-6 at halftime against the unbeaten Comets before the regular-season champs pulled away at Bernlohr Stadium for a 20-10 decision.

Otterbein (in the OAC semis for a second-straight year) ends its spring campaign with an 8-8 overall record while Capital moves on to host John Carroll in the championship contest this weekend.

HOW IT WENT DOWN:

• The Cards went step for step throughout the first half. Despite Capital standout Grace Osborn scoring three times in the first quarter, a pair of Otterbein goals from Carli Rigel led to a 4-4 deadlock early in the second frame.
   
• Capital answered with a three-goal run (one man-down and another two on the advantage), but the Cards still only trailed 8-6 entering the break.
   
• Otterbein was still within striking distance approaching the end of the third, with an Emily Willms man-down goal at 4:42 leaving the deficit just 12-9.
   
• However, the Comets kicked into gear with a lopsided 8-0 run from that point, creating too much breathing room for any Cardinal comeback in the fourth.
   

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Osborn and Luci Kanowsky combined for 13 of Capital's 20 goals, while teammate Brooke Delara leading all players at 10 points thanks to eight helpers.
   
• Willms and Rigel scored all but one of Otterbein's tallies, with Rigel also securing a team-best six draws.
   
• Willms finishes the season with an impressive 78 goals, easily a new program single-season record at 20 more than the next closest performer.
   
• Both sides combined for a 6 of 21 output on free-position attempts.
   
• Capital was 20 of 22 on clear attempts while the Cardinals were just 15 of 24.

THANK YOU SENIORS:

The contest marked the final college outing for the senior trio of Macey Buchanan, Lexie Van Cleef and Isabella Miller.