Box Score

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – The Otterbein men's lacrosse team emerged with an intense 13-12 victory at Wittenberg University Saturday afternoon, clawing back from a 7-2 halftime deficit to notch its first win of the young season.

The Cardinals (1-1) will now head down south for a pair of games in Florida next week, playing St. John Fisher on Wednesday and then Eastern come Friday afternoon.

Otterbein trailed just 3-2 early in the second quarter, but the host Tigers finished the half on a 4-0 run to open a 7-2 lead by intermission.

Wittenberg (0-1) led 8-3 in the third quarter before the Cardinals caught fire, embarking on a 7-0 run to seize a 10-8 advantage by the 10:17 mark in the final period. The sequence featured four goals from senior Robbie Guiliano, two from classmate Marcus Willis and the last score coming from sophomore Connor Dziewit.

The Tigers clawed back within one on a goal with 8:23 remaining, but Otterbein never trailed the remainder of the way by clinging to a one or two-goal lead down the stretch. Wittenberg netted a goal with 35 seconds remaining to cap the scoring.

Guiliano set a new career-high with six goals in the game, coming on 13 shots, and also tallying a pair of assists. Willis and Dziewit both scored twice and fresh while freshman Joe Sanfillipo tied for a game-best three assists. Nick Tholt complimented the attack nicely with one goal and two assists.

Otterbein captured just 10 of 27 faceoffs but was able to convert 3 of 5 extra-man opportunities while the Tigers missed on all three of their chances. Cardinal goalie James Gundling came up with 14 saves in the cage.