Box Score
BEREA, Ohio – The Otterbein men's lacrosse team escaped with a thrilling victory Wednesday night in semifinal action of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament, scoring with 32 seconds remaining to beat host and No. 2 seed Baldwin Wallace University.

The Cardinals, seeded third in the four-team bracket, got a goal from freshman defensive middie Logan Murphy with just 32 seconds remaining after the Yellow Jackets had tied the game 18 seconds prior. It was Murphy's second goal of his career.

"It was a roller-coaster type of game," said Otterbein head coach Colin Hartnett, who is now one win away from leading the program to a fourth-straight NCAA bid. "We were gassed down the stretch because it was a really physical game and we had to play a ton of defense. Winning on a goal from a defensive-middie was kind of fitting."

Otterbein, now 12-6 overall, advances to play at top-seeded John Carroll University Saturday evening, 7 p.m., with hopes of winning a third-consecutive OAC Tournament championship. The Cards had won all three matchups with John Carroll, including the 2014 tournament final, before suffering a 14-7 loss in University Heights earlier this season.

"John Carroll was better prepared than we were the first time around," Hartnett said of the loss back on April 23. "We know we have to make some adjustments and can't play the same game as before. If we make those changes, I think the score can be much different."

Otterbein, eager for redemption after a  10-7 home loss to Baldwin Wallace earlier this spring, wasted no time jumping ahead with goals from Marcus Willis, Nick Tholt and Connor Dziewit by the 5:46 mark of the first quarter.

The Cards bumped the lead to 4-0 midway through the second period on a goal from senior Robbie Guiliano, but Baldwin Wallace (14-3) eventually got on the board by netting a goal roughly three minutes later.

BW entered intermission with a 23-9 shot advantage, but only placed eight on goal andfaced the three-goal deficit. Otterbein goalie James Gundling made seven saves in the opening half, including a diving stop in which he went full-extension after the Cards had committed a turnover and he was forced to hustle back.

The Yellow Jackets slowly began their comeback throughout the second half, registering the only goal of the third quarter, at 4:50, and then making it a one-score game on a score from Ethan Napieralski with 11:52 left in regulation.

Otterbein clung to its slight margin entering the final minute of play, but BW was able to ignite its home crowd on a goal with just 50 seconds remaining. The hosts then won the ensuing faceoff, but Murphy swopped in to save the day by causing a turnover, corralling the ground ball and then darting in to score the game-winner with 32 seconds showing on the clock.

"This has become a rivalry game," Hartnett explained afterwards. "We saw Baldwin Wallace making a push down the stretch and also made some mistakes ourselves. I told the guys at halftime that four goals wouldn't be enough to win the game. We had guys step up in big ways and were able to make something happen at the end."

Gundling, the reigning OAC Defensive Player of the Week, made a season-high 17 saves to spearhead an admirable performance by the Cardinal defense. He was knocked out of the first matchup between the teams this season after taking a hard hit early in the second half. Baldwin Wallace goalie Mike Dizonno had five saves on the opposite end.

BW finished with a 45-16 shot advantage and forced Otterbein into 28 turnovers, but was unable to convert many of those extra opportunities. Derek Andrews (BW) and Nick Tholt (Otterbeiin) both led their respective teams with one goal and one assist.