Box Score

PHOTO GALLERY

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's lacrosse team absorbed a season-opening defeat Tuesday night at a wet and rainy Memorial Stadium, falling under the lights by a score of 18-6 against Ohio Wesleyan.

The Cardinals will have a full week off to regroup before hopping back into action, playing host to Wooster next Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Ohio Wesleyan, which lost 12-7 against No. 3-ranked RIT in its recent opener, improves to 1-1 after jumping ahead right from the start and never looking back. Bishop All-American Trent Schulte snagged the opening faceoff and raced in to score, and then OWU followed with another goal to open a 2-0 lead after just 49 seconds.

Otterbein settled in and scored off the stick of promising freshman Xander Seal, who came off the bench and immediately found the back of the net twice on his first two collegiate shot attempts. His initial score was a man-up conversion assisted by Joe Sanfillipo.

Ohio Wesleyan took control from that point, tallying a key goal with just two seconds remaining in the opening quarter and then using that momentum to outscore the Cardinals 6-0 in the second. The Bishops held an 11-2 lead at the break, all part of a 9-0 run.

Otterbein sliced its deficit to 13-5 with an inspired third quarter effort, getting goals from Drew McDonald and two from Connor Dziewit to try and get back within striking distance. OWU responded once more, registering two goals in the final 20 seconds of the third and cruising to victory.

The visitors finished with a 46-22 shot advantage, getting seven points from Steven Hildebrand and four from Max Tennant. Ohio Wesleyan was spearheaded at the X by Schulte, who did most of his damage early on in the evening.

Dziewit and Seal led the offense with a combined five scores, while goalie Matt Niemi made nine saves, but the Cards went just 1 of 5 on extra-man opportunities compared to a 4 of 7 output for OWU. The rugged game featured seven penalties called on both sides.