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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – A cross-town rivalry affair delivered its fair share of action and back-and-forth momentum swings Friday night at Memorial Stadium, with Capital ultimately staging a second-half rally to outlast Otterbein, 15-13, in front of a raucous crowd under the lights.

Capital, picked atop the Ohio Athletic Conference preseason poll, improves to 4-4 on the year and 1-1 within league play as a result of the win. Otterbein, meanwhile, unfortunately drops to 4-6 this spring and also 1-1 against the OAC.

The Crusaders held a slight 3-2 lead after one quarter, but Otterbein settled in to dominate the second period with a string of five-straight goals. Faceoff middie Mike Roman helped turn the tide with his play in the middle, winning 8 of 12 chances in the first half and also tallying three points in the process.

Roman scored at the 7:03 mark off an assist from Connor Dziewit, giving the Cards a 7-3 lead in what was the biggest of the night for either side. Otterbein eventually carried an 8-5 advantage into halftime.

Capital made some halftime adjustments and came storming out to begin the second half behind standout Brennan O'Callaghan, who netted four of his team's eight goals in the period as the Crusaders took a 13-10 lead.

Otterbein hung close the rest of the way but never led again, trailing 13-11, 14-12 and 15-13 throughout the fourth quarter after scoring goals but never being able to claw back within a possession.

Dziewit dished out five assists and finished the night with six points, while Joe Sanfillipo and Chandler Swartz each had four points of their own. Roman captured 16 of 27 faceoffs ans goalie Matt Niemi secured 11 saves.

O'Cllaghan was the difference for the visiting team, scoring a game-high six times and also setting up another goal for seven total points. Running mate C.J. Hughes (3G, 1A) complimented the charge nicely. Goalie Cole Palmby had 14 stops in the cage.

Otterbein finished with a 57-42 edge in shots, but just couldn't find the mark on many opportunities throughout the second half of play. The Cards were a perfect 11 of 11 on clear attempts.

The Cards get back on the field Wednesday night, hosting Muskingum to continue its OAC schedule. Start time for that contest is 7:30 p.m.