TIFFIN, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University women's soccer team notched its first Ohio Athletic Conference victory of the season and stopped a four-game skid with a 3-1 win over Heidelberg University at the Hidden Valley Soccer Complex.

The first half was evenly matched as each team worked the ball up the field and traded shots to start. Around the 15 minute mark, however, BW (7-5-1, 1-3 OAC) pressed on the gas a little and rattled off four consecutive shots, including two that were saved by the Heidelberg (6-7-1, 1-3 OAC) goalie. Riding the small swing in momentum, freshman midfielder Olivia Kane (Hilliard/Darby) broke the stalemate in the 38th minute to give the Yellow Jackets just their second lead in an OAC game. Not two minutes later, senior three-time All-OAC and Academic All-OAC forward Rachel Bender (Massillon/Jackson), who assisted on the Kane goal, snuck the ball into the near post herself for an unassisted goal that put BW ahead 2-0 as the period wound down.

Coming out of the locker room at halftime, the Student Princes came out with a lot of energy and fired off eight shots, took four corner kicks and had one offside call, all in an attempt to tie the game sooner rather than later. When the Yellow Jackets finally got their first look in the second half, they capitalized on it as senior midfielder Cassandra Waickman (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) and Bender assisted sophomore midfielder Kaitlin McGuire (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland), who finished from 10 yards out in the 72nd minute for a 3-0 lead. Heidelberg answered just over two minutes later with a free kick and continued to work on sending the game to overtime with five additional shots. BW's two-goal advantage was too much for the Student Princes to overcome, however, as the Yellow Jacket back line weathered the storm.

In the net, junior Academic All-OAC goalkeeper Emma Bruno (Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park) made a season-high seven saves in the win. Heidelberg's hot second half pushed the Student Princes ahead in the shot count (19-9), shots on goal (8-6) and corner kicks (9-1).

BW will continue OAC action on Saturday, Oct. 13, when the Yellow Jackets host Muskingum University at 7 p.m. inside George Finnie Stadium.