The Otterbein men’s lacrosse team prepares to launch its season on Valentines Day.
The Cardinals open against Allegheny College tomorrow, Feb. 14, 2026, at Memorial Stadium. The Cardinals feel a great turnaround happening this season after the upsetting knock-out loss against Baldwin Wallace in last year's OAC tournament.
Zach Mulligan, senior forward offensive player, said that he believes this will be a memorable year where the team can take it all the way and win. Mulligan also acknowledged the great future of Otterbein lacrosse but understands this will be his last go around to win this conference.
"Yeah, I’m very excited," Mulligan said. Sighing, he added, "It’s a little sad and happy at the same time, for the lack of better words. It’s unfortunate to see it all fly past you but you also get to go out there one last time with the people you love. We have all the talent in the world to have a great season this year.”
After losing 13 graduating senior players, the team has emphasized proving the doubters wrong.
“People are looking down on us with how many seniors we lost," junior midfielder Andrew Lewis said. "For us it's about ‘we’re still here, we’re still Otterbein.’”
Senior midfielder Jacob Snyder said, “Our goal every year, every season, is to win the OAC championship. I feel confident in our ability to make a great run.”
Both team captains came up with the “dirty bird” award which is a hard hat given out weekly to the most hard-working player on and off the field. This has motivated the team to work even harder going into the season.
Like in the past, the team aims to win this first game to set an early winning tempo for the rest of the season.
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