October 29, 2011 Wilmington College earned a berth in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament with a 3-1 win over Heidelberg at Charlie Gilhart Field Saturday night. The Quakers (4-5-0 OAC, 6-10-3 overall) will be the No. 6 seed in the tournament and will play at No. 3 Capital at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Heidelberg’s season ends at 3-6-0 in the conference, 6-11-1 overall. For those who need a good story line, Saturday’s match-up was a piece of heaven. Heidelberg and Wilmington entered play vying for the sixth and final seed in the OAC Tournament. Based on tiebreak criteria, Heidelberg would have taken the No. 5 seed with a win or No. 6 with a tie. Wilmington needed a win to play on. “We told the players that it was a great opportunity for us to seal our way into the OAC Tournament,” Wilmington head coach Steve Spirk said. “With Senior Night and our last home game, you could tell that the team wanted it, and that’s really what it came down to. I think both teams were good, but I think our team just really wanted it.” Wilmington took a 1-0 lead in the 30th minute when Lauren Mumaw (Dayton/Dayton Christian) delivered a cross that was finished by Sammy Koerner (Fairfield/Badin). The Quakers out-shot the Berg, 13-5, in the opening half and took a 1-0 lead into the break. Despite the statistical disparity, the game suddenly was evened when a Wilmington mistake in the defensive third opened the door for Heidelberg’s Bethany Mattern, who slotted home a shot that tied the game at 1 in the 49th minute. With its postseason life hanging in the balance, Wilmington responded less than 90 seconds later when Sarah Watters (Cincinnati/Turpin) scored off a Britney Beck (Monroe/Lemon-Monroe) assist. “I think that goal showed the character of our team, of our seniors that led the way,” Spirk said. “Even though we gave up that goal, we did not panic and turned around and scored a big goal.” Mumaw delivered an insurance goal off a deflection in the 61st minute. “We struggled to score goals this year, but we did a great job of putting the ball in the net tonight,” Spirk said. “We scored some beautiful goals and showed some creativity. They were nice.” For the game, Wilmington took 28 shots to 10 for Heidelberg. The Quakers won the corner kick battle, 6-2. The game was the final home contest for seniors Beck, Ashley Garcia (Riverside/Stebbins), Amy Johnson (Wilmington), Erin Moore (Grove City) and Mumaw. Up next for Wilmington is Capital (7-1-1, 9-7-2), who ended the regular season with an impressive 3-0 win over John Carroll Saturday. The Crusaders were 2-0 winners over Wilmington at Gilhart Field on Oct. 12. “I thought we had a good match with them. I know they are tough at home, but I am looking forward to the challenge,” Spirk said.