Box Score

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – In a similar script from last spring, the Otterbein men's lacrosse team saw its season unfortunately come to a close after a second-half surge from host John Carroll Wednesday night in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament showdown at Don Shula Stadium.

The Cardinals, seeded fourth in the bracket, lost 15-6 in an OAC semifinal  matchup against the top-seeded and OAC regular-season champion Blue Streaks. JCU, unbeaten in league play this year, will host third seed Capital University this weekend for the title.

Otterbein endured a similar exit last year, leading 8-5 midway through the third period in the championship game until John Carroll went on a nine-goal run to pull away.

Freshman Mike Brendle gave Otterbein an early lead this time around, scoring less than three minutes into the contest off an assist from standout Joe Sanfillipo. Both sides remained in a feel-out mode during the first quarter, with both defensives remaining stingy and both offenses forced to routinely reset after not finding much space.

John Carroll found a groove to end the first quarter, scoring three-straight times and then opening a 6-2 lead midway through the second period. Sanfillipo did his best to keep Otterbein close, following Brendle's second goal with 5:19 in the second to score just 14 seconds before halftime, getting the Cardinal deficit to 6-4.

Sanfillipo then brought Otterbein within 6-5 after scoring the first goal of the third quarter, coming at the 9:41 mark, but John Carroll caught fire with yet another 9-0 spurt from that point to put the game away.

Sanfillipo had a five-point night (4G, 1A) and Brendle scored twice to finish off an impressive freshman campaign. However, the Cardinals were out-shot 44-23 and JCU was dominant at the faceoff-X behind Braden Kaib, who won 19 of 22 opportunities individually as his squad ultimately captured 20 of the 25 overall.

Otterbein goalie James Gundling did all he could in his final collegiate game, making 11 stops to cap off a four-year career in which he finishes  with 589 saves and as the single-season record holder with a 7.50 goals-against average in 2014.