In their second match of the Comstock Park Invitational, Otsego faced the host team who were well rested after their first match. The Bulldogs had to play back-to-back in the heat, but were determined to push past it and control the match. This was not to be the case early as a fresh and fast CP team held their own, especially in wide areas. The Dawgs had lost Junior defender Cole Sallee to an ankle injury, and showed a bit more vulnerability at the back without one of their leaders back there. The Dawgs had the better of the chances in the final third, but came up empty as they placed a number of shots at the goalkeeper or just wide of frame. With two minutes left to play in the half, a communication error between goalkeeper and center back led to a Comstock Park goal that sent the match into halftime with a 1-0 scoreline.

The halftime talk was blunt, heated, and got straight to the heart of the issue... The Bulldogs were not settling the ball down, communicating effectively, or finishing their chances. The team knew they were capable of doing all of those, and made a conscious effort to push past the fatigue and show their quality. They did just that for the entirety of the second half. 13 minutes in, and after a handful of quality attacking efforts, Senior Keegan Timmerman put his squad on the board with a spinning full volley from 16 yards out. This seemed to energize the Dawgs, and they kept building.

The team was confident and calm in their approach, not rushing to play the ball forward, but connecting passes and taking the field in chunks. This was tiring the hosts out, and it began to show late in the second half as a host of Bulldogs challenged the CP net. Addison Atwater, Ian McClellan, Josh Loll, Keegan Timmerman, and Jace Engels were proving to be too much to handle for a rattled CP defensive unit. Loll put his team up 2-0 with a laser from 30 yard out into the roof of the net off a cutting pass from Ian McClellan. With just over a minute left to play Timmerman was determined to get his brace after a number of hard charging dribbling runs fell just shy. He picked the ball up just inside the CP half and drove all the way into the 18 yard box, holding off defenders on the way before slotting the ball home past a helpless goalkeeper. 

Keegan's brace and his tenacious pressing earned him Offensive Man of the Match, and Jerin Jameson's lock down defending and organizing of his back line earned him Defensive Man of the Match honors. Jayden Dentler recorded 7 saves in the win. The Dawgs are in action Monday night as they travel to take on Wolverine Conference opponent Three Rivers at 6:30pm.