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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University men's lacrosse team picked up a much-needed victory Wednesday evening within the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), turning back cross-town rival Capital University by a score of 9-6 inside Memorial Stadium.

The victory clinches a spot in the upcoming four-team OAC Tournament for the Cardinals, who improve to 10-6 on the season and 4-2 against the league. Otterbein will either be the third or fourth seed depending on its result against Mount Union Saturday at 1 p.m.

"There will be no easy games in this OAC Tournament," Hartnett said when asked about the postseason. "You're not going to enjoy seeing any of the other three teams that make it in, so it's going to be a challenge regardless."

Otterbein took an early lead with a goal at the 12:03 mark from senior Connor Baak, who unfortunately had to exit the game just prior to halftime with a mild injury. Capital (11-5, 3-3 OAC) settled in after allowing the early goal, getting three-straight scores to seize a 3-1 lead midway through the opening quarter.

The Cards didn't go anywhere, countering with goals from Connor Dziewit and Marcus Willis as the game was locked at 3-3 in the early stages of the second period. The Crusaders registered a man-up goal moments later, but the Otterbein defense would kick into gear as the visitors would not score again until 8:11 remaining in the fourth quarter.

"I think we played outstanding 6 on 6 defense tonight," Otterbein head coach Colin Hartnett said. "Capital is a team that's going to get shots even if you play solid defense. We just found a way to shift momentum on our side and that's how the game goes sometimes."

Otterbein steadily grabbed control during Capital's scoreless drought, taking a 5-4 lead into halftime and then extending that margin to 8-4 with goals from Nick Tholt, Robbie Guiliano and Willis during the third frame.

Capital posted its two second-half goals within six seconds of one another in the fourth to keep things interesting, but Dziewit answered with his 40th goal of the season at the 4:44 mark to complete the scoring.

"We had to have this game," Hartnett explained. "We needed to clinch our spot in the postseason but it's also a rivalry game, at the end of the season, during the middle of exam week and we were coming off a tough loss. It was important that we came hard tonight."

The Crusaders finished with a 36-27 shot advantage, but Otterbein goalie James Gundling made a solid 11 saves in the cage to spearhead a great defensive effort. It was his eighth game with double-digit stops this season.

Willis tallied two goals and two assists for a game-high four points while Dziewit scored three times. Guiliano scored twice and now has 46 goals on the season, just nine shy of tying former Cardinal Andrew Donatelli's single-season record of 55.

Capital standout Brennan O'Callaghan, the OAC's leading scorer, tallied two goals and one assist on the opposite side of the attack. Both teams won nine faceoffs and converted one extra-man opportunity each.