WESTERVILLE, Ohio – A rematch was in order on Saturday morning as the Capital University men's lacrosse team traveled across town once again to take on the Otterbein University Cardinals. The Comets came seeking revenge after dropping their regular season meeting with the Cardinals by a close score of 5-7. Things were different this time around as the Cap offense out-maxed Otterbein. Despite missing key pieces, the Comets blew past the Cardinals by a score of 14-7.

Capital improves to 9-8 on the season and 5-4 against conference opponents.

Otterbein's season ends with a record of 8-8 overall and 6-3 in the OAC.

The penalty box made it known that this was a rivalry game as the teams combined for twelve total penalties and nine total minutes served.

Brenden Pelton led the Capital offense in scoring with four goals on the day. He was one of eight Comets to find the back of the net. Alongside him with multiple goals were Mason Spaulding with three, and Nathan Mork with two. The five other Capital scores were the responsibility of Jacob Poole, Aiden Manning, Chase Snyder, Jon Gaglione, and Johnathan Kilgallon. 

Jack Scharner was the leading assist man for Capital. His three assists set up Mork, Pelton, and Spaulding, and gave him a total of three points for the game. Mork and Spaulding each had two assists of their own. Spauldings two, in combination with his three goals, gave him five points on the day and made him the game-leading point-getter. Jake Belt and Nathan Montgomery accounted for the last two of the team's nine total assists.

In the backfield for the Comets stood a disruptive defensive front. Capital would collectively cause 13 turnovers and coerce the Cardinals into giving up the ball a total of 23 times. Doc Crimmel led the way in terms of defense, causing three turnovers and picking up five ground balls. His ground ball efforts were matched by Chase Snyder and Lake Harris. Snyder also had two caused turnovers.

James Howenstine completed the group of Comets with more than one CT as he had two. The remaining six caused turnovers were a combination of Spaulding, Montgomery, Jack Conley, Zen Kropp, Sam McInturf, and Drew Bolen. 

The Comets reeled in 15 of the 24 faceoffs available due in large part to the efforts of senior faceoff specialist Lake Harris. Harris accounted for all-but-one of the Capital faceoff victories and scooped up five ground balls along the way.

Sam McInturf was again the mainstay in the Capital cage. He faced 28 shots from Otterbein – 11 of which were on target – and made four saves. Those four saves give him a grand total of 250 in his career, a huge milestone for the junior from Lewis Center. He is credited with the winning decision and stands at 9-8 on the season.


HOW IT HAPPENED
Brenden Pelton got the ball rolling early in the first with an unassisted goal to give the Comets the first lead of the game. However, this was short-lived as Otterbein drew even quickly after. Cap responded in good fashion, stringing together three straight to finish the quarter. The first goal of the run came while Cap was on the power play from the stick of Mason Spaulding off of a feed from Jake Belt. Nathan Mork and Johnathan Kilgallon followed up with unassisted scores to put the Comets up 4-1 at the end of the first. 

Capital drew first blood in the second quarter as Mork netted a ball off of an assist from Jack Scharner. This was Cap's fourth straight goal and Mork's second of the game. Despite two goals from the opposition, the Comets won the quarter thanks to three more goals by Pelton. These came off of assists from Scharner, Spaulding, and Mork. With the increased insurance, Capital led 8-3 when the teams took off to the locker rooms. 

The third quarter was the only where Otterbein got the upper hand on Capital, outscoring the Comets 3-2 in the period. Cap's two goals came courtesy of Snyder and Spaulding, with Spaulding's assisted by Scharner. 

The final fifteen minutes were all Cap as the Comets added four more to their total and gave up only one rebuttal. Spaulding started things off by striking the back of the net to end a ten-minute stalemate to kick off the quarter. Aiden Manning, Jon Gaglione, and Jacob Poole provided the ensuing three goals to give Capital the 14-7 victory.


THE OPPONENT
Nawny Bailey and Nick Clay led the Cardinals offense with two goals each. Zach Groene goes down as the losing goalkeeper. He made 10 saves.


UP NEXT
The mission continues for the Capital men as they look ahead to the second round of the OAC Tournament on Wednesday, May 4. Their opponent for the OAC semi-final will be first-seeded Baldwin Wallace. The Yellow Jackets will host the Comets for a 7 p.m. EST faceoff.