The Otterbein men’s soccer team capped off a successful season with an NCAA Tournament berth, where they fell to Washington and Lee University Saturday Nov. 16.
A season of high expectation, the team that was full of returners who made it their goal to win the OAC regular season crown.
They would fall short of this goal but were good enough to earn a spot in the OAC tournament as the number three seed overall. There they moved past the likes of Wilmington, before defeating Ohio Northern in the tournament semifinal on penalty kicks.
This set up a final between the Cardinals and Mount Union in the final, where Otterbein would look to avenge a regular season loss, this time in Alliance.
“Coming into that final game we wanted to shut them down defensively. Going forward we wanted to create goals. The attacking part was tough because they were a good defensive team as well. I feel like we did well in what we wanted to do,” said senior forward Nick Isaac.
The Cardinals capitalized on a mistake late in the first half from Mount Union to score in the 42nd minute. Otterbein was able to hang onto the lead and win the match 1-0, thanks to a last second save from first-year goalkeeper Jason Villalobos
This victory got the Cardinals over the hump in terms of the OAC Tournament, having suffered a championship match loss in 2021 and 2023.
As OAC Tournament champions, Otterbein would qualify directly to the NCAA tournament, where they played Washington and Lee University, losing 1-0 at Homewood Field in Baltimore, Maryland on the campus of Johns Hopkins University.
“Our players fought till the end; they gave everything. Happy for our guys to win a conference tournament at the end and make the NCAA tournament,” head coach Jason Griffiths said in a post-game press conference.
The trip to Baltimore ultimately capped off a season that brought the highs of a conference tournament win.
“It was a great venue and great campus. I really enjoyed the trip. … It was pretty cool,” Isaac said.
Six members of the team would be recognized as All-OAC athletes, including Villalobos, who won the OAC goalkeeper of the year.
Additionally, Isaac would go on to break the single season record for assists during this campaign. He plans to return next season for his final year of eligibility, where the Cardinals will look to win another OAC crown.
