*Story by Alex Trevino
WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College men's soccer team tries to make it three in a row against a talented Otterbein Cardinals team Wednesday at home at 7 p.m.
The Teams: Wilmington and Otterbein. After an unfortunate result in their first conference match, the Quakers have settled in and won two straight contests giving them a (7-4-1, 2-1-0) record this season. Otterbein (7-1-2, 1-0-2) is fresh off of an offensive explosion against Muskingum as the Cardinals won 7-0 for their first OAC victory.
The Coaches: Wilmington is led by first-year Head Coach Cory Bucur, who came to WC from Defiance College. Bucur led the Yellow Jackets to their best season in over a decade in the fall of 2021 as DC went 11-11-1, upset Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) Tournament before coming a penalty shootout victory away from appearing in the NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Tournament. Jason Griffiths, holding a career record of 58-25-5, enters his sixth season as head coach of the Otterbein men's soccer program. Griffiths, 34, emerged from a deep pool of applicants and immediately resurrected the Cardinal program. He guided Otterbein to a 19-3 record, including a 17-match winning streak to go undefeated in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) to claim both the regular-season and tournament titles. It was the program's first OAC trophy since 2003.
The Players: Thomas Grimes, Wilmington's freshman goalkeeper, recieved the OAC defensive player of the week. Elorm Dogbey has six total goals on the season but has yet to break through in conference play. Casey Miller has scored in each of the last two games. Cardinals standout Will Isaac has paced the offense with nine goals and four assists.
OAC Player of the Week: Thomas Grimes is this week's Midstream Lighting OAC Defensive Player of the Week.
Regional Rankings: Both teams appear in this week's United Soccer Coaches Region VII regional rankings. Otterbein sits sixth and Wilmington is eighth.
Series History: Wilmington is 3-7-0 in the previous 10 matches against Otterbein. More information on the series history can be viewed by visiting the link 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 will face the Pioneers as Marietta travels to Wilmington on Saturday for a 7:00 pm match.
