Box Score

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's soccer team delivered a blow to visiting Finlandia University Sunday afternoon, defeating the opposition by a score of 7-0 at a sunny Memorial Stadium. The win for the Cardinals advanced their season record to 3-2.

The Cardinals hit the ground running early when senior Luke Crea sailed one from 30 yards out over the goalkeeper and into the net. Otterbein would look to Crea again only two minutes later as he put a low-hooking ball through a group of Finlandia defenders that found the lower-left portion of the goal. These were Crea's first goals on the season.

The Cardinals hit the scoreboard one more time before the break when freshman Pau Piang buried one into the lower right corner off of a cross into the box, delivered by senior Costa Poulias from the far right sideline. Otterbein remained dominant throughout the first half of play with great ball possession and a shot advantage of 15-0 over the Lions heading into intermission.

The second half saw two new goalkeepers for both teams as Otterbein junior Mack Stamper relieved freshman Collin Hoffmann and Finlandia sophomore Matthew Van Horn replaced classmate Ricardo Almanza between the posts.

The beginning of the second half saw a similar pattern to the first when Otterbein attacked early, as freshman Tristan Kovach found the back of the net by putting a shot around the goalkeeper into the lower left portion of the net. Kovach was assisted by freshman Tiger Pham, who had kicked a long pass into the box.

The dominant performance by the Cardinals only continued as the second half progressed. Two more goals were tallied in the first 20 minutes of the half, by sophomore Kenneth Will in the 61st minute, and the other from Pham at the 64:14 mark.

In the 70th minute, a foul from Finlandia inside the box would lead to a penalty kick for the Cardinals. Poulias ended up taking the kick and found the net for the Cardinals' seventh goal of the match. The Cardinals carried their strong ball possession all the way through the match as they tallied a 31-2 shot advantage, keeping the ball out of the Lions' hands for almost the entire match.

Otterbein held a 15-1 edge in corner kicks throughout while both Finlandia keepers combined to make 13 saves. The Cardinals will be back in action this Wednesday, when they will take on Bluffton University at Memorial Stadium for a 7 p.m. start time.