ALLIANCE, Ohio – The Otterbein men's soccer team used second-half heroics yet again Saturday night in the regular-season finale, overcoming an early deficit to leave Mount Union with a critical 2-1 victory.

As a result, the Cardinals lock up the No. 3 seed in next week's Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament and will host sixth-seeded Capital on Tuesday in a quarterfinal matchup. First kick from Memorial Stadium (as part of a M/W doubleheader) will be 4 p.m.

Otterbein beats Mount Union for a fourth-straight time although it wasn't easy yet again, in a similar script from last fall in Alliance where the Purple Raiders led 2-0 before the Cards stormed back to win 4-2.

Mount catapulted itself to a 1-0 lead in the 12th minute on a smooth double-assist sequence. Adam Kalvitz and Jamon McCort were credited with assists after working to send a cross into the box, where Ryan Wikle was there to bury home a header far post.

Otterbein continued working for an equalizer and secured it before intermission, as senior Coby Stover found some room down the right sideline and slipped a pass into the box for a charging Giuseppe Maida. The freshman buried it home before absorbing a tough collision with the Raider goalkeeper.

Both sides traded possession and chance back and forth across intermission and into the second half, until Otterbein broke through for good in the 68th minute. Will Isaac played a soaring free kick from midfield into the box, where Nathan Neal went up for a challenge with a trio of Purple Raiders defenders…

The ball squirted free and to the feet of Mitchell Patterson, who rocketed home a shot for the first game-winner of his young career.

Both goalkeepers made three saves and almost all stat categories were incredibly even, aside from Mount Union being whistled for twice as many fouls at 14-6.

Otterbein ends the regular season with a solid 11-2-3 record, including a 5-1-3 mark against the league. Stay tuned for more updates and coverage heading into postseason next week!