Indian Hill's field hockey team lost 3-2 in overtime at Columbus Academy on Saturday, Oct. 17, dropping the Braves to 12-2 on the season.

The defeat snapped a three-game winning streak for Indian Hill, which had rattled off victories over Fairmont, Mount Notre Dame and St. Ursula after its only other loss this year. The Braves remain perfect in Southwest Ohio Field Hockey League play at 9-0, according to the Indian Hill Braves athletics schedule.

Columbus Academy forced overtime and converted to hand Indian Hill its second loss in 14 games. The first came Oct. 3, a 5-2 defeat to DuPont Manual of Louisville.

The loss does not affect Indian Hill's top regional seed or its unblemished conference record.

Indian Hill earned that top seed in the OHSAA field hockey regional tournament on Oct. 15, as the Columbus Dispatch reported. It is the first time since 2020 that Mount Notre Dame has not held the top regional seed in Southwest Ohio. In 2020, Ursuline Academy held the top seed, but Indian Hill won the tournament.

That history adds an extra layer to the postseason bracket. The Braves open OHSAA tournament play against Ursuline Academy at Tomahawk Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 27, at 7 p.m.

First-year head coach Emily Betz's squad had been rolling into the postseason. As we reported Oct. 16, the Braves blanked St. Ursula 2-0 on Senior Night at Tomahawk Stadium on Oct. 14, with junior Nella Grace Lewellen earning player-of-the-game honors. Lewellen, who scored the overtime winner against Mount Notre Dame on Oct. 6, was nominated for the Cincinnati Enquirer's athlete of the week on Oct. 12.

Betz came to Indian Hill after coaching at Summit Country Day, where she led the program to its first playoff appearance in more than a decade in 2019 and was named SWOFHL Coach of the Year three times, according to her coaching profile on the Indian Hill Braves athletics site. On that profile, Betz described her philosophy: "I became a coach because I wanted to teach high school athletes to be confident in themselves."

Before the postseason opener, Indian Hill has one regular-season game left: a home matchup against Summit Country Day at Tomahawk Stadium on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m.