Otsego notched their first win in their home opener Monday night, beating the visiting Schoolcraft Eagles 8-1. Otsego made it interesting in the first few minutes of the match, missing a few chances at the attacking end and looking a bit to careless in possession. Schoolcraft jumped on an early opportunity, caught Otsego napping, and put themselves up 1-0 inside 5 minutes. It was all Otsego from there, however, as the Bulldogs knocked in 5 goals by halftime to take a commanding lead. 

Josh Loll created a pair of chances that Addi Atwater finished off at minutes 13 and 22 respectively. At minute 33 Jakson Dentler broke out of last season's scoring slump and notched his first high school goal on a right-place-right-time tap in at the back post. Loll followed that up 2 minutes later with an insane side volley from the top right corner of the 18 yard box that rose into the far corner of the net giving the Schoolcraft keeper no chance. Four minutes after Jakson Dentler tallied his first goal, he found the net again on a composed one touch effort that tucked neatly into the far corner of the goal. Loll was again the provider with his perfectly clipped ball over the top to the speedy forward. 5-1 was the lead the home team took into halftime.

Josh Loll decided that the first half was not enough for him (1 goal, 4 assists) and proceeded to take over the first two minutes of the second half. Two almost identical dribbling runs up the attacking left side, both from kickoff plays, both finished neatly past a helpless goalkeeper gave Josh his hat trick. This effort ties his career high for points in a match set last season at Parchment. 

From that point on the Otsego reserves got a lot of work, and showed well. Early season opportunities can often be hard to come by for role players and reserves, and taking advantage of those opportunities is key. Newcomers, young guys, and players playing out of position all did a good job with their tasks and made a positive impact. A wide score gap is always a good opportunity to get your defenders soma attacking looks, and Senior center back Jerin Jameson made his opportunity count. Playing target forward Jameson popped in 8 goals last season, but played most of his minutes at the heart of the back line. In the 78th minute his right footed drive from 20 yards out whistled past the outstretched hand of the goalkeeper and capped a solid performance.

Otsego next takes on Wayland Union at home Wednesday evening at 6pm. The Wildcats took a 1-0 game last year in their early season loss, and Otsego looks to avenge that result.