CLEVELAND, Ohio – The No. 24-ranked Otterbein Men's Soccer team dropped its first outing of the season against Case Western Reserve (2-1) on Saturday afternoon. Despite the Cardinals taking a 1-0 lead into the half, the Spartans countered to net a pair after the break and seize control.
 
Case Western exacts revenge after Otterbein won handily, 3-0, last year in Westerville behind the memorable hat trick from Silver Abraham.
 
This time around, the Cardinals took an early lead on a goal from senior Will Isaac in the 16th minute. He fired off a free kick just outside the 18-yard box that proved too hard to stop for Spartan keeper Jackson Kallen. However, that effort turned out to be one of only three shots on goal the Cardinals produced the entire game.
 
Otterbein's defense held off the Spartan's attempts to equalize in the first half, with keeper Casey Thompson earning five of his seven saves before halftime.
 
CWRU's Jad Oglesby eventually scored the equalizer in the 58th minute. Camden Larson took a shot right outside the 18-yard box that Thompson got his hands on, but couldn't manage to hold on to. The rebound landed in front of Oglesby who redirected the shot into the net.
 
The tides turned in favor of Case Western when continuous pressure from their offense converted another goal in the 70th minute. Jacob Salmon sent a ball into play towards Sean Atwater who attempted to take a hit. Atwater instead directed the ball to Kysen Kroeger who was lying in wait for the opportunity to finish.
 
In total, Case Western outshot the Cardinals 12-3 (9-3 on goal).
 
The contest was gritty, with both sides combining to rack up 35 fouls along with five yellow cards in total. The final foul of the match presented one last opportunity to even the score for Otterbein. With nine seconds remaining, the Cardinals sent a free kick in front of the home goal, but couldn't manage to find the back of the net during the scrum.
 
The Cardinals will return home for their next two contests, hosting No. 18 Hanover College on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and then Transylvania next Saturday at 5 p.m.