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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – It was a tough ending to an otherwise positive season for the Otterbein women's soccer team Thursday afternoon in the OAC Tournament semifinals, as the No. 2 seed Cardinals fell victim to third-seeded (and defending champ) Ohio Northern at a sunny/cold Memorial Stadium.

THE SETUP:

It marked yet another anticipated November clash between the rival schools, representing each OAC Tournament crown since 2017 and meeting every year in the postseason since. Last year, Ohio Northern emerged from a semifinal contest in Ada on penalty kicks (4-3) after a scoreless draw.

This time around, the Polar Bears manufactured a pair of goals before intermission and then kept that margin throughout the remaining 45.

THE FIRST HALF:

Otterbein leading scorer Anjuli Anderson had a good early run by splitting two defenders, but her shot sailed just a bit right. The Cardinals generated three corner kicks in the opening 15-ish minutes but to no avail, as one of those sequences saw a blocked shot in a cluttered group.

The Polar Bears then saw a couple decent looks at the opposite end, with a long free kick sailing just over the crossbar and then a rip at the top of the box (minutes later) sailing right into the hands of Ella Schwertfager in goal.

ONU hit the scoreboard just over midway through the first half (25:40 mark) as Jill Roberts fed a pass from the left side into the box. An unmarked Julia Flanagan, who had just subbed in roughly eight minutes prior, quickly finished into the lower-left side of the net.

The Polar Bears doubled-up that lead in the closing minutes of the first half. Cannon sent an initial shot that hit the right post and bounced back into play, where sub Alaina Casey was there to get enough of a piece to roll it home.
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THE SECOND HALF:

A determined Otterbein squad came out firing in the second half, but longershots from Morgan Somers and Jada Leyland in the opening six minutes were saved by ONU keeper Morgan Moeller.

Both sides traded possessions from there, with Kylie Cabana hitting the crossbar for the Polar Bears in the 62nd minute.

The Cardinals had perhaps their best look(s) of the period with just over 10 minutes left in regulation on a pair of ropes from Anderson, but the first was blocked and the second sailed wide right. Otterbein tried its best to move forward and generate any momentum down the stretch, coming up empty despite a free kick on target from Payton Kaufman in the final minute.

THE BOX SCORE:

• The final result marked just the second time in the last 13 matchups decided by more than one goal between the schools.
   
• Otterbein held a 15-10 advantage in total shots this time, but had just six of those on goal. ONU placed eight of its 10 on frame.
   
• The Cards found space around the edges and toward the end-line yet again, earn 10 corner kicks compared to just two for the other side.
   
• Both Schwertfager and Moeller made six saves on the afternoon.

THE AFTERMATH:

Ohio Northern advances to Saturday's title match against either John Carroll or Baldwin Wallace. Otterbein will hope for an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships, but rests 14-4-2 overall for the time being.