ALLIANCE, Ohio – No. 5 seeded Mount Union travels to No. 4 seed Otterbein in the first-round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Tournament Tuesday at 2 pm in Westerville.
The Purple Raiders, led by third-year head coach Kelley Clark, are making their seventh OAC Tournament appearance -- first since 2003 -- with a tournament record of 3-5-0.
Sophomore Shannon Evans (Newbury/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) leads the Raiders and is second in the conference with 26 points. She also leads the team with 11 goals and six game-winning goals.
Freshman Carolyn Balzano (Poland/Poland Seminary) is Mount Union's second leading scorer with seven goals, three assists and 17 points.
Junior goalkeeper Maria Favorite (Newbury/Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin) is expected to start in the net. She has matched a school single-season record with 10 shutouts and leads the conference with an .860 save percentage and a 0.71 goals-against-average.
Otterbein is making its 13th tournament appearance with a 14-7-1 record and has five tournament titles.
Jillian Strimbu leads the Cardinals with 10 goals and 22 points, while Madison Burchfield and Polly Sellers each have a team-best four assists.
Goalkeeper Dana Strimbu is has four shutouts victories and her .778 save percentage and .750 goals-against average is second best to Favorite in the OAC.
Earlier this season, Otterbein defeated Mount Union, 2-1 in double overtime in Westerville. The Purple Raiders have not beat the Cardinals since an 8-2 win in Westerville in 1998.
The winner of today's game advances to the semifinals Thursday Nov. 7 at 2 pm against No.1 Capital in Columbus.
The other first round matchup features No. 6 seed Baldwin Wallace at No. 3 seed Ohio Northern in Ada with the winner taking on No. 2 seed John Carroll in the semifinals.
