Avon Lake native Jillian Strimbu was a staple for the women's soccer program from 2012-15, becoming a three-time first team All-Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) selection in the process. Her breakout campaign came in 2014 as a junior when she was voted the league's Midfielder of the Year, when she matched Otterbein’s 25-year old single-season record with 14 goals. Strimbu scored against seven different conference opponents that season as the Cardinals went 12-3-4 overall, and 8-0-1 within league play, to capture the OAC regular-season crown.

The icing on the cake in 2014 came through the form of a second team CoSIDA Academic All-America selection, as she was one of just 33 players across the nation to be chosen. An equine/pre-vet major who compiled a cumulative 3.98 grade-point average, Strimbu was the seventh overall Academic All-America pick for women’s soccer and fifth in a five-year span.

Also a two-time All-Ohio selection, Strimbu graduated as the program’s all-time leader in game-winning goals (16), second in total scores (33) and fourth with 71 points despite missing seven games as a senior due to injury. She ultimately scored against every OAC team in her career.

In addition to her Academic All-America honor, Strimbu landed on the Academic All-OAC list three times, garnered two Academic All-District and All-Ohio awards, and was selected as Otterbein’s female OAC Clyde Lamb recipient at the end of her final year. The OAC Clyde Lamb award is presented annually to the top male and female senior student-athletes at each of the 10 institutions.

Strimbu, who played all four years at Otterbein alongside her sister Dana (the team’s starting goalkeeper), went on to attend Ohio State's College of Veterinary Medicine in the fall of 2016.