WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Wilmington College women's soccer team saw its 2021 spring season come to an end on Thursday evening with a 4-1 defeat at Otterbein University in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament semifinal.

Otterbein, the top seed in the tournament, will move on to the final and host Ohio Northern University (ONU) while Wilmington, which ended its season at the same place as it did in 2019, ends the 2021 spring season with a 5-4-2 record.

Unlike the regular season meeting between the two teams which saw no goals in the first half, the Cardinals netted the first three goals of the game, all of which were assisted by Emily Ganz. The first, coming off the foot of Delaney Earl, was in the 16th minute as Bella Shivley sent a low cross into the box. The Fightin' Quakers' goalkeeper, Lauren Galloway, charged the ball, but Earl beat her to the spot and flicked it into the open net. Priscilla Severance and Ashley Boy entered the scoring column in the 22nd and 29th minute respectively to give the hosts a 3-0 advantage.

Determined to get back in the game, Taylor Huffman, the reigning OAC Offensive Player of the Week, broke free down the near sideline of Memorial Stadium and fired a shot from a wide angle that went over the head of Erin Gordon. Unfortunately for the visitors, the hosts got the goal right back four minutes later as Sydney Walker made it 4-1 at the break.

Otterbein, which held a 25-2 edge in shots in the first half, was content to possess for the majority of the second half. In the final seconds, however, the Cardinals could have run the clock out, but elected to fire one final shot with two seconds left, which resulted in the game's final goal.

Gordon earned the win, making two saves on three shots on goal. Galloway took the loss despite making 14 saves on 19 shots on goal. 

Wilmington finishes what was an off 2021 spring season with the program's first appearance in the OAC Tournament semifinals since 2010.