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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – It went down to the wire on Senior Night for the Otterbein women's lacrosse team, which battled in the closing minutes to hold off pesky Ohio Northern in a narrow 12-11 final.
The Cardinals held leads of 7-0, 9-5 and 12-9 at various points but ONU just wouldn't go away, clawing back each time and seeing a late chance to tie.

Nevertheless, Otterbein emerged to win for the ninth-straight time in series history and secure the No. 5 seed in next week's Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament. The Cards will travel to play fourth-seeded Marietta in the quarterfinals on Saturday.

Prior to the contest, the program recognized five seniors in the form of Grace Cory, Emily Willms, Logan Fox, Lauren Newkirk and student assistant (former player) Leah McNutt for their contributions to the program.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• It was ALL Cardinals early, as the home side flew out to a 7-0 lead after roughly 12 minutes of game time.
   
• The Polar Bears caught their breath and settled in to chip away. ONU scored twice to end that first quarter and embarked on a 5-0 run to get back within striking distance.
   
• Emily Willms regrouped her club leading into the break by scoring twice herself in the final 62 seconds, widening Otterbein's lead back to 9-5 at intermission.
   
• A low-scoring third quarter went 11 minutes without a netter before the teams traded scores in less than 55 seconds, with Fox converting a man-up goal followed by ONU's Meredith Miller answering right back. The Polar Bears then scored again with nine seconds left in the period to only trail 10-7 entering the last frame.
   
• The two sides began trading consecutive goals in the fourth as Otterbein stood on top 12-9 with 3:51 showing on the game clock. But ONU won a few draw controls from that point to retain possession and get back within 12-11 in roughly 90 seconds..
   
• Otterbein's defense hung on at the end, scooping up an errant pass and successfully clearing the ball. Fox bled the clock and Willms nearly tied the program's all-time scoring record in the closing seconds before her shot was saved.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• Willms led all players with six points on the night, getting to 220 for her career and now trailing former standout Tory Blatt (2012-15) by just one atop the program record books.
   
• Willms may not have achieved that scoring record quite yet, but did set another program best in the process by breaking the all-time mark for most draw controls. She had five in this game and jumps to 203 for her college run, moving slightly ahead of Macey Buchanan.
   
• Fox and Ava Robey both tallied hat tricks on the night, as Fox now has three-plus goals in four of her last five outings.
   
• Otterbein went 3 of 4 on the free-position shots while holding the Bears to just a 1 of 6 output.
   
• Maggie Nance came up with nine saves, including a few acrobatic stops, to keep her team in front wire-to-wire. ONU split a pair of goalies as Chloe Millican entered late in the first quarter and ultimately made five stops.

SATURDAY REMATCH:

• The Cardinals will be looking to get even with Marietta this weekend after dropping a recent 14-13 overtime heartbreaker to the Pioneers last week. More details on the league's postseason event will be announced in the coming days.