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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The 10th-ranked Otterbein men's soccer team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament with a 2-0 win over Medaille College in first-round action Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
The Cardinals, now 18-2 overall riding a 16-game winning streak, shift their focus to Sunday's second round with a matchup against No. 13-ranked Kenyon on the horizon. Kenyon defeated Transylvania 1-0 in the night cap on Saturday.
Otterbein was first to ink the scoreboard less than 12 minutes into the match as senior
Noah Coons found the back of the net for the fourth time this season, firing a deflected shot off a double-assist.
Fellow senior
Jaden Lunger set the play up by forcing a header to the far side of the box, to which junior
Zach Lewis headed the ball toward the goal line right in stride for Coons to slip the shot past Medaille goalkeeper Callum Christie.
With a 1-0 lead at-hand the Cardinals continued to keep the pressure on the Mavericks, finishing the opening period with a 14-4 advantage in shots while also earning a pair of corner kicks. Cardinal goalkeeper
Collin Hoffmann was stopped one shot between the posts in the initial frame.
Otterbein added to its lead coming out of halftime in the 66th minute of play as Coons launched a shot on goal that was initially blocked by a host of Maverick defenders, before the ball spun away in the box in line with senior
Gavin Koerner. Koerner made an attempt toward goal before a Medaille player mistakenly kicked the saved shot across the goal line for an own goal.
The Cardinals buckled down with their sublime defense for the remainder of the game en route to their 11th shutout of the season and second in-a-row. Hoffmann earned the win in goal for his 18th on the year, saving four shots in total.
Otterbein concluded the match with an astounding 24-11 margin in shots, including a 10-4 advantage in shots on goal. A total of 25 fouls were issued along with a pair of yellow cards, one to each team.
The loss ended Medaille's season as it finishes with a 14-6-1 overall record following the program's eighth appearance in NCAA Tournament.
