UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio- In a battle for the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championship and the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid, it was No. 7 John Carroll who prevailed 1-0 over Otterbein.
JCU secured their second straight OAC Tournament trophy thanks to a goal from Mario Aboumitri in the 14th minute of the match. Even with Otterbein having multiple chances to even the score, ultimately the Cards fell just short on a cold Saturday night inside of Don Shula Stadium.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
- John Carroll got the only goal they needed early in the match when Larry Cersosimo sent a cross to teammate Aboumitri in the box who buried the shot at 13:07.
- Otterbein saw first half scoring chances come up short, including a shot from Will Isaac that was blocked by the JCU defense before it made it to Blue Streak goalie Connor Robinson.
- Otterbein saw perhaps its best scoring chance come in the closing minutes of the match on a set piece following a Blue Streak foul near the 20-yard line.
- The Cards sent a cross into the box with 4 minutes remaining, Kennedy Mensah was able to get his head on the ball, the shot carried wide though.
- JCU held on for its second consecutive tournament championship, escaping Otterbein by one goal for the second time this season.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:
- Senior Kennedy Mensah was named to the All-Tournament Team after a two game stretch that saw him propel the Cards into the championship match following an overtime winner Thursday night against Mount Union.
- Defender Nathan Neal is an All-Tournament Team selection after helping the Cardinal defense post a clean sheet on Thursday, and limit the nationally ranked No. 7 Blue Streaks to a lone goal.
- For his efforts on the defensive side, Seth Smith joins Mensah and Neal on the All-Tournament Team as well.
- This is was Otterbein's second OAC Championship match in the last three years.
UP NEXT:
- Otterbein will await to learn if it earns an NCAA Tournament at-large bid during Monday's NCAA Selection Show at 1:30 pm, stay tuned to otterbeincardinals.com and Otterbein social media for details.
