Men's Lacrosse holds on for thrilling 8-7 season-opening victory over Otterbein
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otterbein (0-1) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
| Ohio Northern (1-0) | 2 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
Team Stats
Otterbein
| Game Statistics | Otterbein | Ohio Northern |
|---|---|---|
| Shots | 24 | 46 |
| Ground Balls | 26 | 27 |
| Saves | 18 | 8 |
| Clears | 21-24 | 13-24 |
| Turnovers | 24 | 16 |
| Face Offs Won | 8 | 10 |
| Man Up | 0-5 | 0-3 |
By Tim Glon
ADA —The Ohio Northern men's lacrosse team built an 8-4 lead and held on for a thrilling 8-7 victory over Otterbein in the season-opener for both teams on a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
Senior Joe O'Connell (Fishers, Ind.) and junior C.J. Moran (Austin, Tex./Bowie) scored two goals each for the Polar Bears (1-0 overall).
The Cardinals (0-1) got three goals and two assists from Xander Seal.
O'Connell got his second goal of the game off an assist from senior Cameron Marous (BrecksvilleBrecksville-Broadview Heights) with 6:27 left in the third quarter to put Ohio Northern up 8-4.
Otterbein scored the next three goals and got within 8-7 when Seal finished his hat trick at the 10:04 mark of the game.
The Polar Bear defense stiffened, allowing only two shots on goal the rest of the way while forcing turnovers on five of OU's final six possessions.
Ohio Northern out-shot Otterbein 46-24, won 10-of-18 faceoffs and had a slim 27-26 ground ball advantage.
Sophomore Cole Zaferakis (Liverpool, N.Y.) had eight saves in goal to record the win in goal for ONU.
The teams traded goals for most of the first half until junior Nick Edkins (Liberty Township/Lakota East) and senior Pat Berthelsen-Leon (Bethpage, N.Y.) scored in the final 3:07 to put ONU up 6-4 at intermission.
O'Connell notched his two goals in the third period to cap the 4-0 run and make it an 8-4 game.
The contest does not count in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings as the April 3 contest at Otterbein will be the league game in the round-robin OAC schedule this season.
The Polar Bears will open their conference schedule on Saturday at Heidelberg.
