Box Score WILMINGTON, Ohio – The regular-season finale for Otterbein was a smooth victory Wednesday night on the road, as the Cardinals eased past the host Quakers 26-2 to officially clinch the No. 4 seed in the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.

Otterbein, finishing the regular season at 8-7 overall and 6-3 against the league, will host a quarterfinal matchup against cross-town rival Capital on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. The two sides met just a few weeks ago… with the Cards prevailing 7-5 inside Memorial Stadium.

The Cards and Quakers were tied 1-1 early before Otterbein kicked into gear, opening a 10-2 lead after the first quarter and a 15-2 cushion by halftime.

Plenty of rotations were implemented throughout the second half, where the Cardinals netted another seven in the third frame and coasted down the stretch. Otterbein finished with a 60-11 edge in total shots.

Eight players had multi-goal outings, led by a four-score effort from Sam Swisher. Alex Menendez (3G, 3A) delivered a team-high six points while Nick Clay also secured a hat trick.

Tyler Owens-Terwilliger and Trevor Rusk shared time in the cage, with Owens-Terwilliger making five stops his 40 minutes of action. Rusk, a senior journeyman and backup goalie, was put on the attack later in the second half and ripped in a pair of man-up goals to bridge the third/fourth quarters... which erupted the Otterbein bench.

The Cards won 24 of 30 faceoffs, including a 23 of 26 output over the initial three quarters. That effort was led by a three-headed monster of Chase LaGore (10 of 13), Davis Tanaka (7 of 7) and Justin Dyer (8 of 11).

Shep Marty and Owen Opp both caused a pair of turnovers defensively.