WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Capital University men's lacrosse team (7-8, 6-2 OAC) traveled a short distance north up I-71 on Saturday to partake in their annual rivalry game against Otterbein (7-7, 4-4 OAC). The Comets will keep the oar for another year after utilizing a strong second quarter to beat the Cardinals in the 2024 Battle for the Oar, 16-13.

As it stands, Cap looks to be lined up for the third seed in the upcoming OAC Tournament running from April 27th to May 4th. 

HOW IT HAPPENED
The game was tight in the early going as Otterbein responded to Capital's two opening goals with three of their own and took a 3-2 lead into the first break. Nathan Montgomery and Mason Spaulding were the first to get the Comets on the board.

CU was quick to turn things around in the second quarter, scoring five straight as part of a 6-2 period and heading into the half with an 8-4 lead in hand. Spaulding was responsible for three of the six, the other three going to Max Schillig, Jacob Poole, and Ty Chase.

The Purple and White would add another to their lead as they outscored the Cardinals 4-3 in the third quarter. Spaulding scored his fifth of the game while both Montgomery and Chase scored their second, with Aiden Manning also getting in the mix.

Cap put up another four in the fourth quarter to oppose five from the other side, finally settling the score at 16-13 for the good guys. Spaulding added his sixth and seventh of the game, with Montgomery completing his hat trick, and Poole putting a second in. 

THE NUMBERS
Mason Spaulding led the offense once again with his seven goals accounting for all seven of his points, also adding a ground ball.

Nathan Montgomery tied his career-high for goals in a game with his third career hat trick, finishing with five points after adding his two assists. He also grabbed two ground balls. 

Ty Chase and Jacob Poole put in two goals each. Chase added three assists to finish with five points. 

Aidan Manning and Max Schillig made up the remainder of the scoresheet with one goal each. Manning would make two assists as well to wind up with three points along with one ground ball. Schillig scooped up four GBs.

Freddy Noday handled the majority of the faceoff duties, going 14-for-22 with nine ground balls and one caused turnover. Tyler Lieu took 6-of-11 faceoffs and finished with three ground balls.

Elsewhere on field, Eric Patterson (3 CT, 6 GB), James Howenstine (3 CT, 1 GB), Drew Bolen (2 CT, 2 GB), Mason Patrick (1 CT, 3 GB), Austin Yanichko (1 CT, 1 GB), Jackson Gantz (1 CT), Martin Browder (1 CT), Gino Nave (2 GB), and Anthony Carusone (1 GB) made their presence known on defense. 

Luc Kadlic (7-8) finished with an even 50.0% save percentage after making 13 saves, while also picking up two ground balls and causing two turnovers. 

UP NEXT
The Comets will wrap up the regular season on Wednesday at Muskingum. That game is set to get going at 7 p.m.