GRANVILLE, Ohio. — Women's Soccer scores early to secure a win against Denison in the season opener. Freshman Keaton Aspacher shook off the first-game nerves by netting the lone goal just over two minutes in, marking the program's first victory over The Big Red on Denison's home turf.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (1-0-0 overall), Denison (0-1-0 overall)
• Venue: Barclay- Thompson Field — Granville, Ohio

The Match

• THE Play: Camryn Earl starts the play with a corner kick, passing short to Alyssa Lemos. Lemos then lofts a perfect ball to Aspacher in the goalie box. Despite an initial right-footed shot being blocked from close range, Aspacher quickly follows up with a left-footed strike to score and secure the game's opening goal.
• Card's defense stood firm, maintaining the lead with a single goal as goalie Ella Schwertfager made five saves after the score.
• Denison, in their push to equalize, accumulated 11 fouls while Otterbein committed only six.

Notables

• Otterbein is 5-8-3 in the overall series against Denison
• This marks the first time in program history that the Cardinals have defeated The Big Red in Granville.
• Aspacher's lone goal marks the first of her collegiate career. 
• Head Coach Brandon Koons, now in his 26th season at Otterbein, improves his career record to 339-102-42 with this win.

Quote from the Head Coach, Brandon Koons
"We're really happy about a good start tonight. A 7:30 away game is tough enough, but adding a 45 minute delay against a good team opening a new stadium, it's even tougher. Half our starting lineup was different from the last time we played. We got through a period where they had all the momentum, reacted well, got huge contributions from new players and players who stepped up in new roles.
A win, a shutout, … hard to ask for anything more."