The Wilmington College men's lacrosse team fell to Ohio Athletic Conference preseason favorite Otterbein Wednesday, 13-7, on Townsend Field at Williams Stadium in the final home game of the season.

"We continue to play three really tough quarters and one bad quarter; tonight it was the first quarter," said Wilmington head coach Domenic Marzano. "Once we settled into the game, we were playing some good lacrosse. I was really happy with the way we handled their defensive pressure. They are a big, aggressive defense. I thought our guys handled the pressure and set up the offense nicely. We had a few turnovers in the clearing game, but we kept our composure."

After falling behind 7-2 after the first period, Wilmington played the Cardinals pretty even over the next 45 minutes – getting outscored 6-5.

"Our defense played well from the second quarter on," said Marzano. "They worked together and really started communicating in the new scheme we put in for this game. Chris Hein really stuck out tonight. We had him playing a little different role than he is used to, and he did a great job."

Midfielder Evan Osborne (Middletown, OH/Lebanon) had one assist in his final home game.

Junior Jalen Jackson (Hilliard, OH/Bradley) gave Wilmington an early lead, scoring 10 seconds in the contest. However, the Cardinals responded by scoring five straight to take a lead they wouldn't relinquish.

Jackson had a hand in more than half of Wilmington's seven goals, scoring three times and dishing out an assist. He scored his second goal with 5:35 left in the first period to pull WC to within 5-2. His final tally came at the beginning of the second period, and it was as close as Wilmington would get (7-3).

Both teams excelled in clears as Otterbein was a perfect 35-of-35 and Wilmington was 26-of-27. The Fightin' Quakers continued to struggle on faceoffs, winning just 7-of-24 attempts.

Junior Alexander Gossard (Galloway, OH/Hilliard Bradley) added two goals, while sophomore Reid Delaney (Wooster, OH/Wooster) had a goal and an assist. Freshman Devon Maki (Pickerington, OH/Central) also scored for Wilmington.

Wilmington (9-6 overall, 1-5 OAC) travels to Mount Union 1 p.m. Saturday for the season finale.