WILMINGTON, Ohio – Someone's zero in the loss column was potentially on the line Wednesday night in a matchup of unbeaten Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) men's soccer teams, as Otterbein and Wilmington squared off inside Williams Stadium.

The Cardinals, ranked No. 6 in the latest national poll, opened with an absolute bang and never trailed throughout the full time. Otterbein now stands 11-0-3 on the season and 5-0-1 within the league.

Otterbein captured momentum instantaneously, taking the opening kick and scoring just 18 seconds into the match. Nathan Neal played a ball up into the attacking zone, where Silver Abraham eventually gained possession and worked toward the end-line. He fed a smooth pass into the middle of the box where an unmarked Drew Holman finished lower left.

The Quakers (10-1-3), receiving votes in the latest national rankings, quickly gathered themselves across the next few minutes and soon tallied an equalizer. Grant Murray sent a ball into the box and teammate Michael Owusu rose up to finish a header into the left side.

The match appeared as if it might head into halftime deadlocked, but Otterbein had different plans after a Wilmington foul on the near side with just under 4:00 to play. Coby Stover sent a free kick into the box with Cardinals charging in everywhere, but the ball ended up slipping through a pair of teammates and into the far-right side of the net.

Otterbein built on that momentum midway through the second half as Josh Conroy came up to get in on the offensive sheet. Nicholas Flury launched a fine throw-in toward the goal, where Gabe Sharrock ripped off an initial header that was deflected back by a defender. Conroy was right there to poke it back in and double the lead.

The match was ready to end in the 3-1 margin, but Wilmington kept playing to the final whistle and snuck in a second tally. A Quaker defender lofted a ball downfield, and it was corralled by teammate Mitch Solle in space up the right side. He finished strong with just two seconds left on the clock.

Both teams attempted 18 shots on the night with Sharrock's six leading all players. Andrew McIlvoy, the reigning OAC Defensive Player of the Week, made three stops for the Cardinals while counterpart Felix Mauer made a pair.

The Cardinals held a 6-1 advantage in corner kicks in a match that saw three yellow cards. Both sides have rotated victories now in the past five meetings.

Otterbein will return home Saturday evening and welcome Muskingum, with first kick scheduled for 7 p.m. It will be Senior Night inside Memorial Stadium.