Otterbein Edges Big Red in Battle of Ranked Teams

Otterbein's Becky Bowser scored off a rebounded shot attempt by teammate Sara Vasbinder in the 85th minute and that was enough to push the Cardinals to a 1-0 victory over the Big Red women's soccer team at Barclay-Thomsen Field.

The two teams have forged a strong rivalry in recent years and tonight's contest was much of what you would expect from two of the nation's top teams. Denison came into the match ranked seventh in the latest NSCAA poll and fifth in the D3kicks.com top-25. Otterbein was 24th in the NSCAA poll and 19th on the D3kicks.com website.

Otterbein broke the scoreless tie after being awarded a corner kick. Off the corner Vasbinder took a shot in front of the goal that was saved by Denison goalkeeper Liz Gillette. The ball caromed off Gillette and into a crowd in front of the goal where Bowser got a foot on it and snuck it past Gillette's outstretched right hand. The goal snapped a 212 minute scoreless streak between the two teams dating back to Sept. 10, 2005. Denison won that contest 2-1 but played the Cardinals to a 0-0 tie on Nov. 19 only to advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals via a shootout.

Denison outshot the Cardinals 18-10 and kept Otterbein goalkeeper Annelise Erpenbeck busy as she posted 11 saves. Six different DU players took shots on goal and the Big Red totaled 11 shots on frame in the contest. Anne Young led Denison with four shots while Lauren Going had three. Gillette finished with four saves in goal.