TIFFIN – On a cold, windy, and rainy afternoon at the Hidden Valley Soccer Complex, the Heidelberg University women's soccer team had a hard time heating up in a 2-0 loss to Otterbein. It was the Ohio Athletic Conference opener for both sides, as the Cardinals dominated play and dealt the Student Princes a defeat.

KEY STATS

Heidelberg was out-shot 19-5 in the match as they mustered just one shot in the first half. That one shot for the Berg came in the final minute of play before the half as Otterbein maintained possession for the majority of the period.

In addition to their edge in shots, Otterbein tallied 11 corner kicks in the match while Heidelberg had none.

FIRST HALF

The Cardinals took control of the possession right out of the gate, as they tallied a pair of shots in the first eight minutes that were saved by Alexandra Farmer.

In the 22nd minute, Otterbein broke through when a loose ball in the box was put into the back of the net by Alyssa Spencer, giving the Cardinals the 1-0 lead.

Otterbein had another great chance in the 31st minute when a cross into the box was headed onto goal by Jillian Strimbu, but an impressive save by Farmer kept the deficit at just one.

Heidelberg's offense sputtered for most of the half, as their only shot of the half came with just 12 seconds remaining before the break when Marisa Mower put one on goal that was saved by Otterbein. The period ended with Otterbein holding on to their 1-goal lead.

SECOND HALF

Otterbein took control again to start the second half, quickly playing the ball toward Heidelberg's box. In the 50th minute, a corner kick by Megan McCabe deflected off of Farmer and sneaked into the goal to make it a two-goal deficit for the Berg.

The game became much more physical in the second half, as both Mowery and Darby Moloney received yellow cards as the game wore on.

Despite getting four shots in the second half, the Berg was unable to battle all the way back as they fell by a final score of 2-0.

UP NEXT

OAC play will continue for Heidelberg on Wednesday when they travel to Baldwin Wallace. That match is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. in Berea.