WILMINGTON, Ohio – Road matchups in the Ohio Athletic Conference, notably in the second half of the fall, can oftentimes get tricky and test your will. That scenario was presented to the Otterbein women's soccer team Wednesday night down at Wilmington, as the Cardinals found themselves in a knock-down, drag-it-out battle under the lights.

Nevertheless, the Cards persevered when it mattered most to escape with a 1-0 triumph against the host Quakers to remain undefeated in league play. An 85th-minute goal from senior Morgan Somers, the reigning OAC Offensive Player of the Week, propelled the team to its fourth-straight win against the conference.

Otterbein controlled a vast majority of possession and offensive looks in the first half of play, out-shooting WC 6-0 prior to the intermission break. The Cards had three shots and won a pair of corner kicks in the opening 20 minutes… but to no avail.

The latter portion of the first half saw Otterbein keep its foot on the gas pedal, with another shot saved by Wilmington keeper Heidi Toner and a long ball from Bailey Zanella hitting the crossbar.

Wilmington found some push forward in the second half en route to securing a 7-3 edge in shots, but Ella Schwertfager was there to make all four of her saves on the night in the frame.

The eventual difference-making sequence would come with just under six minutes left on the clock. Senior defender Payton Kaufman came up to play a crisp through ball to classmate Anjuli Anderson, who stayed patient to remain onside before easily tracking it down near the end-line…

AJ took one quick touch before slipping the ball toward an unmarked Somers in the box, as the senior-senior-senior connection was finished off when she casually finished high and mighty with her left foot. Somers has now scored in all four OAC matches this season.

The match saw each team attempt four shots on goal and a combined 19 fouls committed throughout. Otterbein has also now defeated Wilmington 13-staight times.

The Cardinals (8-2-2, 4-0 OAC) will look to add another in the win column Saturday afternoon with a matchup at Heidelberg. First kick from Tiffin is slated for 1 p.m.