Box Score WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's soccer team used a trio of first half goals to help capture a 6-2 victory over Wilmington on Tuesday night at Memorial Stadium.
The Cardinals, who improve to 8-5-2 overall and 3-2-1 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play, scored three or more goals for the fifth time this season behind team-leading goal scorer Luis Rivas.
Rivas notched the initial goal for the Cards in the 11th minute of action, scoring off a perfectly placed pass into the center of the Quaker box by Blake Steenrod. The assist was Steenrod's second of the year.
Luis Rivas scored two
of the six Cardinal goals.Four minutes passed before Wilmington inadvertently scored an own goal to give Otterbein a 2-0 lead.
Otterbein was issued a foul in the 19th minute, which led to a Wilmington free kick from about 12 yards out. Benny Spirk capitalized on the kick, deflecting the ball off the Cardinal defensive line to redirect the ball past the diving reach of goalkeeper Mack Stamper.
Another four minutes passed before Erick Juarez-Manning helped Otterbein regain its two-goal advantage off a rocket from 25 yards outside the box. The goal was Juarez-Manning's second of the season.
The Cardinals took a 10-7 lead in shots at the halftime break, while each team tallied one corner kick.
Noah Coons inflated Otterbein's lead to 4-1 in the 62nd minute, scoring his third goal of the season off a deflected shot from 10 yards out that slipped past Quaker goalkeeper Nick Latessa. Ten minutes later, Toby Varland placed a corner kick nicely into the Wilmington box for Reid Wolfe, who touched the ball to Nate Norris for a header into the back corner of the net. The goal was Norris' eighth on the year.
Wilmington tacked on a goal in the 76th minute after a Daniel Kappelin shot from 15 yards outside the Cardinal box, slipping the ball past Stamper to cut the deficit to 5-2. Rivas re-entered the contest late to score his second goal of the game and 12th overall off an assist into the box by Wolfe.
Otterbein maintained its four-goal advantage for the remainder of the contest thanks to solid defense and good ball control.
Stamper logged over 76 minutes in goal to pick up the win, posting four saves. Lukas Swysgood replaced Stamper in the 77th minute and stopped a pair of shots. Otterbein led Wilmington 20-12 in shots, including a 10-8 margin in shots on goal.
Next up for the Cardinals is a trip to Baldwin Wallace on Saturday for an OAC matchup in Berea, Ohio. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
