After putting themselves in a tough position just five minutes into their first match, Otsego's Varsity soccer team took control and battled to a 2-1 victory over the Wildcats of Wayland Union. A poor clearance from Goalkeeper Matti Rayman in the early going allowed talented midfielder Amanda Brown open the scoring in the fifth minute. The Dawgs had talked before the match about early season jitters and living with your mistakes. They moved past it quickly and shifted into gear.

Though Wayland went into halftime up 1-0, Otsego was looking more and more comfortable on the ball. In the second half the connections were starting to be made up top, and Senior Alison Diller took over. She got the ball near the halfway line along the left flank, played through a handled ball by a Wildcat defender as well as an attempt to take her down from behind in the penalty area, and opened her scoring account with a beautifully tucked away ball to the far post past the diving goalkeeper. Her second goal of the night, and eventual match winner, was even more special. Freshman Rylie Henckel split two defenders with some fancy footwork along the right side to get into the final third. She then played a perfectly weighted diagonal ball to hit Diller in stride 18 yards from goal. The Senior did all the work from there as she took a touch away from the two defenders on her back, calmly took it around the onrushing goalkeeper, and passed it into the open frame to put her team in the lead with 13 minutes left to play.

Senior keeper Matti Rayman was solid after her early misstep, and made 7 saves in the winning effort. None bigger than the two she made in the final minute of play to keep Brown from tallying a second from long range, and to smother the ball off the insuing corner kick to seal the victory. 

Player of the Game honors go to Alison Diller for her brace, and her all-around solid play.