WC men’s soccer set for first round of OAC Tournament at Otterbein
The Wilmington College men’s soccer team travels to Westerville, Ohio Tuesday afternoon for a 4 p.m. matchup with the Cardinals in the First Round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament (OAC). After missing out on the postseason in 2023, the Quakers are back in the tournament after advancing to the OAC Championship game in 2022.
Wilmington earned the No. 6 seed in the tournament after finishing the regular season with an 11-5-3 overall record and 4-5 mark in the OAC. The Quakers began the season 9-0-3 before running into stiff OAC competition and dropping their last four games of the regular season.
They look to get back on track against an Otterbein Cardinals team that they defeated in Westerville, 2-1 on Oct. 16. During that contest, Parker Burke and Kaden Young provided the two goals for Wilmington, with Young’s being the game winner coming off a penalty kick in the 78th minute of the contest.
Quakers to look out for offensively are Burke, Randy Harris and Young. These three players have combined to score 47 of the Quakers’ 73 goals this season. Burke’s 22 goals are tied for the program record and is second in NCAA Division III. He has added five assists for 49 points this season, which is third in the country.
Randy Harris has scored 10 goals this season and dished out 12 assists for 32 points. Harris’s assist total is tied for seventh in the country. His 10 goals are fourth in the OAC and 32 points are third in the conference.
Young is second in the OAC with 15 goals and 34 points. He has also added four assists.
A final Quaker to look out for offensively is Jace Houck, who is second in the OAC with 11 assists this season. The Quakers’ offense as a whole is third in the country in scoring offense with four goals a game.
Players to watch for in the midfield and on defense are captain Alfie Harris, Connor Neidemire, Luke Washenfelder and William Jansson. Harris does a fantastic job leading the team and has scored three goals and dished out two assists for eight points this season.
Neidemire, Washenfelder and Jansson are all anchors on the Quakers’ back line and rarely ever come off the field.
The Quakers’ game Tuesday afternoon can be watched at https://boxcast.tv/view/msoc-otterbein-vs-wilmington---oac-tournament-f…, and you can follow the live stats at https://otterbeincardinals.com/sidearmstats/msoc/summary.
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