Box Score PHOTO GALLERY

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – It was a disappointing 2022 ending for the Otterbein men's lacrosse team Saturday morning at Memorial Stadium, as the Cardinals couldn't quite keep up with cross-town rival Capital in quarterfinal action of the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament.

The Comets, seeded fifth, took an early lead and ultimately led wire-to-wire in departing with a 14-7 victory. Otterbein, hosting and seeded No. 4, took the regular-season matchup between the schools but now concludes its spring campaign with an 8-8 overall record.

Capital now advances to next week's semifinal round in the six-team bracket.

WHAT HAPPENED:

• The Comets won four-straight faceoffs to begin the day behind Lake Harris, and built a 5-1 lead early in the second quarter. Otterbein's lone goal in the stretch came on an absolutely upper-90 rocket from Cole Werbrich off a pass from Aidan Moore behind the net.
   
• Nawny Bailey (assisted by Dekaider Jackson) converted a man-up opportunity to keep Otterbein within 5-2, but Capital answered right back after a Cardinal penalty just a few minutes later.
   
• Brenden Pelton scored twice for Capital in the closing minutes of the first half, giving the visitors an 8-3 lead entering the locker room.
   
• A re-energized Otterbein squad came charging out of intermission, getting back-to-back goals from Nick Clay (during the initial portion of the third quarter) to shrink the gap to 8-5.
   
• After Capital extended the lead with two goals, Cardinal defenseman Lincoln Troxell found the back of the net with 39 seconds left in the third to keep his team within shouting distance… 10-6.
   
• Neither team scored over nearly 10 minutes to begin the fourth, until Capital rattled off three in a row to put the game away.

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• The Comets won 15 of 24 faceoffs in the middle and finished with a 37-28 edge in total shots as a result of that success.
   
• Both sides combined for a 3 of 12 output on extra-man situations.
   
• Zach Groene, a fifth-year senior and program journeyman, tallied 11 saves in his final college game.
   
• Four Cardinals finished with multi-point days.
   
• Mason Spaulding had a five-point effort for Capital, while Pelton and teammate Nathan Mork each contributed four.