WESTERVILLE — Junior Jacob Irani scored two goals to lead the Otterbein men's soccer team to a 5-1 win over Wilmington in the first round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament on Tuesday. The victory advances the Cardinals to Thursday's semifinals at No. 22 Ohio Northern.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (11-6-2 overall), Wilmington (11-6-3 overall)
• Venue: Memorial Stadium - Westerville, Ohio
• Otterbein is the No. 3 seed in the tournament, and Wilmington is the No. 6 seed.
• The Cardinals will face second-seeded Ohio Northern in Ada on Thursday at 4 p.m. The other semifinal features fifth-seeded Capital at top-seeded Mount Union. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
• OAC Tournament page

The Game

• Otterbein opened the scoring in the eighth minute as senior Silver Abraham found the back of the net via an assist from graduate student Drew Holman.
• The Cardinals increased their lead to 2-0 in the 19th minute on a header goal from Irani via an assists from senior Nick Isaac and Abraham.
• Wilmington cut the deficit in half on a penalty kick goal from Kaden Young in the 25th minute after Otterbein freshman goalkeeper Jason Villalobos was removed from the game due to injury following a collision.
• With Villalobos, a four-time OAC Defensive Player of the Week with an OAC-leading 11 shutouts this season, out of the game, the Otterbein defense stiffened as junior Giuseppe Maida took over in goal for just over 13 minutes of action. Villalobos re-entered the game during the latter stages of the first half, and the Cardinals took a 2-1 edge into halftime.
• Both teams attempted six shots in the first half. Four of Otterbein's were on target compared to Wilmington's three. Otterbein held a 3-0 edge in corner kicks at the break.
• The Cardinal offense exploded for three more goals in the second half en route to the 5-1 victory.
• Irani notched his second goal of the game in the 47th minute, assisted by Isaac.
• Isaac scored a goal of his own in the 63rd minute on an assist from junior Drew Boettcher.
• Sophomore Josh Lord capped the scoring with a goal in the 74th minute assisted by Abraham.
• Villalobos finished the game four saves in 76-plus minutes in goal for Otterbein.
• Wilmington out-shot Otterbein by a 13-12 margin, while the Cardinals had seven shots on goal to the Quakers' five. Otterbein finished with a 5-2 edge in corner kicks.

Quotes

• Junior Jacob Irani: "We knew Wilmington was going to be a really tough matchup, so we knew we had to be sure in the back and take the chances that we got. I'm really proud of the guys. We responded really well after they scored their goal, and we put them away. We've won four games in a row now, so morale is really high."
• Head coach Jason Griffiths: "We wanted to play aggressive today. We weren't aggressive in the first game we played against Wilmington, and we did a really good job tonight of being aggressive and attacking and keeping possession. I'm proud of the guys. It was a really good team performance today. ONU is another team that beat us in the regular season. Our guys were hungry tonight because Wilmington beat us in the regular season, and I think they'll be hungry again on Thursday."

  Notables

• Irani's two goals gave him three on the season, all scored in the past two games. He has 11 career points on three goals and five assists.
• Abraham has recorded nine points in the past three games, including one goal in each. He has 36 career points on 13 goals and 10 assists.
• Isaac has recorded two assists in each of the past two games and has 28 points on eight goals and 12 assists on the season. He has 46 points on 14 goals and 18 assists in his Otterbein career.
• Lord's goal was his second of the season.
• Holman's assist was his third of the season. He has 35 career points on 13 goals and nine assists.
• Otterbein fell 2-1 to Wilmington in Westerville during their regular-season matchup on Oct. 16. The Cardinals are 11-5-2 against the Quakers dating back to 2008.
• The five goals marked a season high for the Cardinals.
• In his eighth season with the program, Otterbein head coach Jason Griffiths holds an overall record of 93-38-14.