ADA, Ohio – The game began with some high-scoring exchanges and settled into more of a tighter jockeying for position Wednesday night, but the host Polar Bears found a way to lead wire-to-wire and keep Otterbein at arm's length in a 13-9 decision.

As a result, the Cardinals will be the No. 5 seed in the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament and return to ONU for the second time in four days this weekend, taking on the No. 4 seed Polar Bears in a quarterfinal matchup Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Ohio Northern wins by four goals for the second time in as many meetings between, as the narrow all-time series with the schools has an average winning margin of just 3.6 goals.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT:

• Ohio Northern jumped out to a 4-1 lead after less than six minutes of action, but Otterbein weathered that storm to only trail 5-3 toward the end of the frame.
   
• Both sides traded stretches of momentum in a second quarter that saw each find the back of the net twice. ONU led 8-5 at halftime.
   
• The Polar Bears widened the gap to 10-5 very early in the third, striking twice in less than a minute.
   
• The Cards did their best to catch up from there, piecing together a 4-1 run that bridged into the early portion of the final quarter. Otterbein trailed 12-9 after Nathan Lewis found Aidan Moore with a healthy 10:21 on the clock, but just one goal (from either side) would be posted after that.
   

BOX SCORE NOTABLES:

• Eddie McDonald won 15 of 26 faceoffs and has now captured nearly 60 percent of his chances over the last four games. He also snagged eight ground balls.
   
• Moore and Carson Rainone each tallied a hat trick while Nick Clay scored another two.
   
• Adam Clay and Lincoln Troxell combined to cause five turnovers.
   
• ONU held a slight 21-15 edge in shots on goal and received a game-high four goals off the stick of John Lynn.