The Otterbein women’s soccer team defeated visiting Ohio Northern this past Saturday with a 1-0 overtime victory in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament Championship. The team now automatically receives a bid to the NCAA Division III Championships.
The game was a rematch from 10 days prior that saw the Cardinals wanting to improve on their regular season tie game against the Polar Bears. The Cardinals ultimately pulled ahead to win their first OAC title since 2010.
The winning goal was scored by sophomore Priscilla Severance, 57 seconds into overtime. Head Coach Brandon Koons gave a lot of credit to the team’s work ethic in achieving the win.
“The goals don’t matter," said Koons. "It’s your work rate. The reason we won is because of players like her who are working. The goals are just the cherry on top.”
This is Koons' sixth OAC tournament win at the helm of the program.
With this title win, the Cards go 16-2-1 for the season and continue a win streak that stretches over two months.
Severance has all three goals against Ohio Northern this year but said she puts a lot of credit on her teammates.
“I just want to give it back to them. They work hard, and I just wanted to work even harder for them,” said Severance. "This was a surreal night, and I'm not sure I've felt anything like it. I'm just very thankful to be part of this team and this amazing moment."
The Cards will take on Dominican University at 5 p.m. on Friday as the opening match to the four team regional here at Memorial Stadium.
