WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College men's soccer team faces perhaps its toughest test on Wednesday when undefeated Otterbein University comes to Williams Stadium for a 7 p.m. contest.
The Teams: Wilmington and Otterbein. The Fightin' Quakers enter the game with a 10-0-3 record and a 3-0-2 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) mark after coming from a goal down to tie Marietta College 1-1 on Saturday. The Cardinals are also 10-0-3 on the season, but have just one tie (4-0-1) in conference competition. They most recently defeated Heidelberg University 2-0 in Tiffin on Saturday.
The Coaches: Alex Van der Sluijs is in his fourth year leading Wilmington's men's soccer team. The 2007 alumnus, who was a three-time First Team All-OAC selection and a member of the program's only team to win an OAC title in 2004, got the program within a shootout victory of playing for an OAC Tournament title in the spring of 2021. He worked at Defiance College for seven seasons. Jason Griffiths is in his fifth season as Otterbein's head coach. The Cardinals won the OAC Championship and advanced to the "Sweet 16" Round of the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament in his first season.
The Players: Seniors Yusef Muqtadir and Elorm Dogbey lead the Quaker offense combining for 16 goals and five assists. Muqtadir is second in the conference in goals scored with nine. Jeffry Vasquez isn't far behind with six goals and three assists while goalkeeper Felix Maurer surrenders 0.60 goals per contest. The Cardinal duo of Will Isaac and Silver Abraham have scored 16 goals while goalkeeper Andrew McIlvoy has 45 saves and a 0.63 goals against average.
National Rankings: Otterbein checks in at No. 6 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll. Wilmington is receiving votes to be ranked.
Regional Rankings: Wilmington is currently fourth in the most recent United Soccer Coaches Regional Rankings. Otterbein is the top team in the region.
Series History: Wilmington is 14-15-1 against Otterbein dating back to the 1986 season. The Quakers won the last meeting – 2-1 on April 1 in Westerville – as well as the last time the two squads met at Townsend Field – 1-0 on Oct. 17, 2018. More information on thre series history can be viewed by visiting the link above.
Coverage: Live statistics and live video of the contest will be available – visit the links above.
Social Media: Follow Wilmington athletics on social media! The Fightin' Quakers have a presence on Facebook (Wilmington College Athletics) as well as Twitter and Instagram (@DubCQuakers).
Up Next: The Quakers head to Baldwin Wallace University for a 7 p.m. contest on Saturday.
