ONU Downs #1 Wilmington In Ada

The ONU Polar Bears wasted no time last night in Ada as they scored within the first 3 minutes of the match against the OAC leading Wilmington College Quakers. Kaitlin Sanders took a pass from midfield, beat 2 defenders, and slid to knock the ball past the Quaker keeper. Not knowing if the ball would find the net or not, Senior Erin Stapp came sliding in on the back post to assure the goal would stick to give ONU the 1-0 lead. Midway through the first half, Sanders again was able to get by her defender and served a ball into the box, as the Quaker goal keeper made the attempted save, she was hit by her own player and the ball found the back of the net, making the score 2-0. ONU had several great scoring chances to keep Wilmington on their heels for the remainder of the half.

The second half began with Wilmington putting alot of early pressure on the Polar Bears. As the half opened up, ONU was able to gain their rhythm and create some very dangerous scoring opportunities but unfortunately didn't capitalize on any. The game ended at 2-0 which places ONU at 2nd in the OAC, dropping Wilmington from 1st place to 3rd.

With just one regular season game remaining, ONU can clinch 2nd place with a win at Marietta this Saturday. Another key match up this weekend is Otterbein playing Capital. If Otterbein loses or ties to Capital, ONU will be back to back OAC Champions for the first time in the history of the program.

ONU Head Coach Mark Batman gave his thoughts on the win: "Today was a great win for us. Coming back off a rough performance against a very good Otterbein team was important for our team's confidence going into the final regular season game as well as the OAC Tournament. We have a great group of players, and when they're on, they're on. I'm very optimistic about our chances and we need to finish the OAC Regular season strong to assure the first round tournament bye and championship hopes."

Thanks to all who continue to support our program and our players. We hope you can make it to Marietta this Saturday as ONU faces a tough Pioneer team who has the conference tournament in their sights.