Opening Weekend!

The 2010 Ohio Northern Women's soccer season is officially open! The polar bears resumed action for the season this past weekend with back to back games against Hope (Mich) and Earlham (Ind). It was a great atmosphere for opening day as parents, friends, and fans packed the stands and sidelines to cheer on the bears. Eager to make their mark this season, the bears got straight to work in the first half beginning with Tara Tokar's unassisted goal in the 17th minute. A hard working Hope squad responded with a goal in the 26th minute to even the score. However, it wouldn't last long as freshman Abbie Schauble responded with her first career goal as a polar bear, assisted by senior Chelsea Albert. The first half also found Tokar netting her second goal of the game off of an assist by Alyssa Merrick, and freshman Sami Atkinson converting a cool penalty kick to tally the score 4-1 at halftime. During halftime the fans were treated to a scrimmage featuring the Ohio Extreme u11 and u12 girls teams on the game field. Once the second half was underway, there was no looking back for the polar bears as junior Alyssa Merrick jumped on the scoring sheet in the 46th minute. Merrick also assisted Schauble's second goal of the afternoon in the 67th minute. Rounding out the scoring for the game was freshman Lauren Brown with just ten minutes left in the match off of an assist from junior Kim McGowan. Overall, opening day was quite a success as the bears looked to set the tone for the 2010 season!

The next day saw the bears face up against the Earlham College Quakers. This hard fought, physical battle featured many scoring opportunities for the polar bears. However, a goal was not to be found for the home team. In the 37th minute the quakers stuck in a scrappy goal off of a free kick in the bears defensive half. Junior keeper Kristen DeWees made the initial save off the line but could not keep the rebound shot from the back of the net. The second half found the bears stepping up the pressure to find the equalizer by out shooting the quakers 14-7 on the game. Unfortunately the game ended, handing the polar bears their first loss of the season. The bears will look to respond this weekend at the Otterbein Tournament as they face off against Kalamazoo (Mich) and St. Mary's (Ind).