Pickerington native Tara Carter came to college with higher expectations than anyone could have imagined. She remembers seeing raised eyebrows from the coaching staff during her first preseason meeting after listing her main goal: Break every Otterbein goalkeeping record. Possessing an unmatched will to improve and sharp sense of awareness, Carter went on to start 86 of a possible 88 matches over the next four years en route to becoming the most successful keeper in the history of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).

Carter’s teams went a combined 68-11-9 over her four seasons, capturing three-straight OAC regular season and tournament titles. The 2010 run would be the best, going 20-0-4 and advancing to the NCAA Final Four for the first time in school history. That season, Carter helped the Otterbein defense rank atop the nation in goals-against average (0.16) and shutouts (21) while finishing second among all Division III goalkeepers in save-percentage (.931).

She earned three all-conference awards, two all-region awards, and was voted the OAC Goalkeeper of the Year twice. The icing on the cake would come when Carter was named a 2010 first team All-American and National Goalkeeper of the Year by D3Soccer.com.

In addition to her work on the pitch, Carter earned two Academic All-America first-team selections and received the distinct honor in 2010 as the Capital One/CoSIDA Academic All-America Player of the Year, which highlights the top student-athlete covering aNCAA Division II, III, and NAIA. She is one of just 12 Otterbein student-athletes to earn All-America honors for both academic and athletics in the SAME season.

Carter, who came on as the program’s assistant coach after graduation, remains the OAC’s all-time leader in goals-against average (.430), shutouts (54), minutes played (7,815), and consecutive scoreless minutes (1,094). Upon graduation, Carter had reached her goal of breaking every Otterbein goalkeeping record, all while maintaining a perfect 4.0 grade-point average and leaving a legacy that will not be forgotten.

Carter now lives nearby in Columbus and works in retail decoration, helping to design manufacture and install décor in stores and restaurants.