Otsego was looking to rebound from a loss at the hands of the Allegan Tigers that all but destroyed their hopes of challenging for a conference title. They hosted Wolverine Conference challenger Dowagiac Wednesday evening, and wasted no time jumping on the visitors. Just 35 seconds into the match, Addison Atwater showed off some fancy footwork inside the area, and slotted the ball to Jace Engels who made no mistake from 8 yards out. Starting the match strong has been a constant issue for the Dawgs this season, and they seem to be bucking that trend as of late.

Two minutes after Jace put his team on the board, his strike partner Keegan Timmerman got on the end of a tremendous ball from fellow Captain Josh Loll and buried it into the bottom left corner avoiding the pressure from the Dowagiac keeper. The Dawgs held the majority of the possession, and momentum was certainly on their side. With 18 minutes gone in the match Captain Addison Atwater tapped home the Dawgs' third goal of the night at the back post off of what Freshman Jakson Dentler could claim to be either a cross or a shot. Whatever you call it, the hosts called it a commanding lead. A lead they would take into halftime.

Re-energized, the Dawgs took the field for the second half with an uncommon starter on the right wing. Senior foreign exchange student from Brazil Lucas Silva had earned some time out wide and saw his opportunity to shine. He just picked up the game this year, but his Brazilian roots show through in his tricky and creative style of play. He had nearly gotten on the board late in the first half, and was again marauding up and down the flank through the first 10 minutes of the second half. The attack came primarily from the left side when Lucas was on, due to the dominance Ian McClellan was showing pushing up from his left back position. Dowagiac had no answer for him as he danced on the ball, connected up the wing, and sent great service into the danger area. 5 minutes into the half Keegan got on the end of one of those balls and slotted it past the keeper for a 4-0 lead. On an almost identical play, Ian found Keegan again five minutes later for another beauty of a goal. This completed the Senior's hat trick on the night, and put the Dawgs on cruise control the rest of the match. 

Younger players again got some great minutes to boost their experience, leaders like Cole Sallee and Jerin Jameson helped organize a young defensive unit, and Freshman goalkeeper Brendan Gross took the final 15 minutes in net to keep the clean sheet. He was tested 3 times, standing up to them all, and even tipped a high shot off the crossbar before re-gathering it. The young talent on this squad doesn't always see a ton of game action due to the strength of our more experienced players, but they have stepped up in recent matches when given the opportunity. 

Junior goalkeeper Jayden Dentler capped the night off in the most exciting way possible with just 35 seconds left in the match. Ordinarily tasked with keeping the ball OUT of the net, Jayden was given the opportunity to play a little bit of target forward to see the game out. He took advantage of that time just 40 seconds into his shift, heading home a ball that came down off the crossbar after a scrum in front of the Dowagiac goal. The crowd erupted, the bench went ballistic, and all Jakson could do was wonder what he had to do to match his big brother's tally on the year. The younger Dentler has been doing everything right the past 6 or 7 matches, and cannot seem to find the back of the net. His time will come, but today way all Jayden's!

Cole Sallee earned defensive man of the match, with a special nod to Jerin Jameson who man-marked Dowagiac's playmaker for the majority of the match. Without their efforts shutting down the opponent's key player and providing cover for one another it could have been a very different outcome. Jayden played 65 minutes of 3 save shutout soccer between the sticks, and was relieved by Gross who recorded 3 saves of his own in the final 15. Keegan's hat trick earned him offensive man of the match honors, and he was joined in the attacking glory by a ton of players who looked dominant, connective, and tricky. Josh Loll and Jerin Jameson controlled the center of the park all evening, and players like Addison Atwater, Ian McClellan and Hunter Lucas (just to name a few) locked down the wide channels. It was a true team effort, and the Dawgs have some of their shine back going into a non-conference match Thursday night as they host Kenowa Hills at 6pm.