The Denison women's soccer team kicked off their six-game homestand with a 3-0 victory over regional rival Otterbein on Wednesday night at Piper Stadium in Granville.

The Big Red narrowly grabbed the lead inside the first 10 minutes when a through ball by Phoebe Gilbert found senior Jacquie Graham just in front of the goalie box. However, the linesman ruled Grahamwas offsides, nullifying the scoring chance. Nearly 10 minutes later, Denison broke the scoreless tie when Graham sent a cross to the middle of the box that Maggie Armstrong was able to put into the upper right 90 for her first goal of the season. Armstrong's header came from eight yards out in the 18th minute of play.

The Cardinals tried to respond in the 30th minute when Holly Bernhold bent her corner kick into the goal. However, a foul for pushing DU keeper Jenny Herold took Otterbein's equalizer off the board as Denison entered the intermission with a one-goal advantage. The Cards tried to strike early in the second half, but a sliding play by Herold halted a Madison Burchfield scoring opportunity.

After having a goal waived off in the first half, Graham finally got on the board when she ripped a shot past Andrea Pohlman from eight yards out off a pass from Gilbert. The Big Red sealed up the victory when Ashlyn Flaherty buried a shot from roughly 28 yards out after dribbling around a Cardinal defender in the 78th minute.

Otterbein held a slight 10-9 advantage in shots while also attempting eight corner kicks compared to DU's five corners. Herold made four stops en route to her 18th-career shutout. Pohlman corralled one save in 90 minutes of action.

Graham and Armstrong each had a goal and an assist, while Flaherty scored on her only shot attempt.

Denison moves to 1-2 on the season, while the Cardinals fall to 1-1-1. The Big Red continues their homestand this Saturday (Sept. 10) against Carleton College. Kickoff at Piper Stadium is slated for 2:30 p.m.