ADA — The Otterbein women's soccer team fell 2-1 at Ohio Northern in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals on Thursday night. A goal with under a minute remaining provided the winning margin for the Polar Bears.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (9-5-6 overall), Ohio Northern (13-5-1 overall)
• Venue: Kerscher Stadium - Ada, Ohio
• Otterbein is the No. 4 seed in the tournament, and Ohio Northern is the No. 1 seed.
• OAC Tournament page

The Game

• Ohio Northern took a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute on a goal from Alyssa Beckett.
• A header from senior Bailey Zanella with under a minute remaining hit the left post of the goal, sending ONU into halftime leading 1-0.
• At the break, ONU held a 4-3 edge in shots, including 2-1 in shots on goal, while Otterbein had a 2-1 advantage in corner kicks.
• Junior Cami McCulty tied the score at 1-1 in the 71st minute, finding the back of the net from the left corner of the goal box.
• An ONU shot from the edge of the box with just over four minutes left was saved by Otterbein junior goalkeeper Ella Schwertfager. The Cardinal defense then helped Schwertfager keep a flurry of ONU shots out of the goal as the clock ticked under four minutes.
• The Polar Bears did find the back of the net with just 42 seconds left, as Jill Roberts scored what proved to be the game-winning goal.
• Schwertfager played all 90 minutes in goal for Otterbein and recorded three saves.
• Both teams attempted 10 shots in the game with five on goal for ONU and four on goal for Otterbein. Both teams attempted four corner kicks.

Quote

• Head coach Brandon Koons: "We knew this game was going to be tough. We had to play the quarterfinal game a couple days ago, and that didn't go as smoothly as we had hoped. Then we had to travel and play at a tough place to play against a good team. We tried to slow things down a little bit in the first half, and other than giving up a goal on a set piece, the first half went according to plan. Then we played with a little more energy in the second half, and I felt like we were the better team tonight. I'm super proud of the team tonight. It's just a tough one."

Notables

• This is Otterbein's 24th appearance in the OAC Tournament. The Cardinals are 25-16-2 all-time in the tournament with seven championships and 12 finals appearances.
• Otterbein fell 3-1 to Ohio Northern at home in the teams' regular-season meeting on Oct. 23. The teams are tied 12-12-5 in the series since 2007.
• McCulty's goal was her fourth of the season. She has 14 career points on six goals and two assists.
• Head coach Brandon Koons, now in his 26th year at Otterbein, holds an all-time record of 347-107-48 with the Cardinals.