Sewanee Box Score

Berry Box Score

WESTERVILLE, OHIO – Otterbein University men’s lacrosse capped off its road trip with its first victory of the season, topping Berry College (Ga.) 15-9 after falling 10-9 in overtime at Sewanee (Tenn.).

The Cardinals now sit at 1-2 on the season, and return home to host Mount St. Joseph on Wednesday, March 21. Starting time from Westerville Central High School is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Otterbein was forced to rally from its second six-goal deficit of the trip against Sewanee, fighting back from an 8-2 halftime margin to cut the lead to 8-7 after a goal from Mike Dattolo with 7:16 remaining in the contest.

Sewanee went ahead 9-7, and kept the advantage as the game clock ticked under one minute. However, Otterbein sophomore Eric Garris showed some flare for the dramatic, tallying two goals in the final 38 seconds to force overtime.
Unfortunately, the Tigers came up with a goal in the overtime session to escape with the victory.

Dattollo and Garris each posted three goals in the contest while sophomore Mikey O’Neal dished out a team-best four assists.

The Cardinals would not allow themselves to fall behind early on Thursday, jumping out to a 9-2 halftime lead at Berry.

Otterbein bumped the margin to 11-3 just a few minutes into the third quarter, and never looked back en route to the victory.

“This the first time we have won a game on spring break since we started,” said head coach Colin Hartnett. “We started out very slow the first two games, but got out quick today and scored four of the first five goals.”

Sophomore Mike Dattolo turned in a career game for the Cards, registering a game-high five goals. Garris and freshman Jeff  Reese each added three scores in the winning effort.

Junior Jake Ritzenthaler also had a solid game, picking up a game-best seven ground balls and winning 12 faceoff opportunities. O’Neal and junior Juan Contreras each tallied six ground balls while Garriss and Reese had four each.

Junior goalie Adam Hatchard recorded nine saves in both outings against Sewanee and Berry.

“These trips are a great team bonding experience,” Hartnett explained. “I was happy to see our guys come back after dropping a heartbreaker in overtime. I think this can set us up well for the games we have going forward.”