BEREA, Ohio – Despite a valiant road effort, the visiting Otterbein men's lacrosse team just narrowly came up short of an upset at league unbeaten Baldwin Wallace Friday afternoon.

It was a very entertaining back-and-forth showdown with a slew of momentum swings at George Finnie Stadium, but a late goal by the Yellow Jackets with 1:36 to play allowed the hosts to escape with an 11-10 decision. BW now stands 10-3 overall and a perfect 6-0 against the Ohio Athletic Conference.

Otterbein, meanwhile, falls back to even in the OAC despite leading the game (10-8) with under six minutes left in regulation.

HOW IT PLAYED OUT:

• Things looked tough early for the Cardinals, who fell behind 6-1 after the first quarter and faced a tough climb back.
   
• Otterbein settled in and began to chip away, igniting the second period with a four-goal run that included two off the stick of Nawny Bailey. That effort allowed the Cards to only trail 7-5 by intermission.
   
• Nick Clay and Nathan Lewis scored early in the third to tie the game, and Otterbein eventually bridged into the fourth with a three-goal spurt to fly ahead. The massive swing was all part of a 9-2 run from the beginning of the second quarter.
   
• Unfortunately, the Cardinals weren't quite able to hold onto that 10-8 lead, coming with 7:52 left on the clock.
   
• Baldwin Wallace scored twice before the 4:00 mark, and the contest entered the final minutes deadlocked at 10-10. Bailey had a chance with 1:56 to go but a save, quick clear and game-winning goal just 20 seconds later put the hosts ahead for good…
   
• Davis Tanaka won the ensuing faceoff for Otterbein but was quickly stripped to give possession back to the Yellow Jackets. After a BW turnover, failed clears on both sides, and two timeouts, the Cards had one final look with 10 seconds remaining…
   
• Nick Wile darted in on the whistle from his team's sideline, but a handful of defenders were there to meet him and prevent any game-tying opportunity.

 
STAT CHECK:

• Bailey and Dekaider Jackson both tallied hat tricks for the Cards, who overcame a 6 of 25 output at the faceoff X to remain close.
   
• The game saw a combined 47 turnovers, with four Cardinals causing multiple giveaways by the home side; Wile, Jackson Jerdonek, Lincoln Troxell and Adam Swindell.
   
• Kyler Byerly scored three times for the Jackets, although the Otterbein defense kept BW's other standout (Jake Nanosky) scoreless for the game.
   
• Baldwin Wallace finished with a 40-28 edge in shots, and Zach Groene made seven saves in the cage for Otterbein.

 
NEXT WEEK:

The Cardinals will enjoy the holiday weekend before getting back on the turf come Wednesday night, hosting Marietta at 7 p.m.