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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The top seed Otterbein Cardinals fell short in their quest to finish off a regular season/tournament sweep on Saturday afternoon, as visiting Ohio Northern emerged with a 3-1 victory in the OAC Final at Memorial Stadium.

The No. 2 seed Polar Bears, striking twice in the first half, claim their first OAC Tournament crown since 2015 after going 7-1-1 in the regular season. They earn the league's automatic bid to compete in the upcoming NCAA Championships.

Otterbein, recently winning their third OAC regular-season title in the past seven years, now stand 12-3-4 this year following the disappointing result. The Cards will now wait to learn if they receive an at-large bid to the national bracket, with the NCAA Selection Show coming Monday at 2 p.m.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT:

• Otterbein had an early free kick into the box which then resulted in a corner, but the set piece would be quickly cleared by ONU.
   
• The Polar Bears took momentum in the 13th minute following a Cardinal miscue, where a goal kick was slightly mishit and went right to the feet of William Shaffer. After a quick give-and-go with teammate Colin Gottron, he promptly finished lower left to ignite the visiting fans.
   
• Ohio Northern extended that lead in the 36th minute on a cross from the right sideline, as a ball from Nolan Schirmer found Noah Zebrak charging toward the near post. His header slipped in the right side for a 2-0 lead.
   
• The Cards pushed forward trying to get a first one back after intermission, and nearly did so in the 61st minute after leading scorer Will Isaac nearly converted a header off a smooth cross from the right. His attempt trickled across the box and just outside of the right post.
   
• Isaac had another shot saved shortly after, and Luke Butzier saw his blocked in traffic on the resulting corner kick.
   
• ONU delivered the backbreaker with 16 minutes in regulation on another set piece, this time when Cade Winchester converted a header (back across his body) off a rope from Shaffer.
   
• Otterbein got on the board late, as Isaac connected with fellow veteran Carter Ely for a set-piece goal at the 82:05 mark.

BOX SCORE:

• The physical matchup featured a combined 26 fouls and six yellow cards issued throughout.
   
• ONU finished with a slight 12-9 edge in total shots.
   
• Casey Thompson made three saves while counterpart Lucas Hickey made four on the visiting end.
   
• Ohio Northern breaks a 3-3-3 mark in recent series history, as all columns were deadlocked over the last nine coming in.