ONU Takes Sole Possession of 1st Place!

On a wet and chilly afternoon in Westerville, OH, ONU took sole possession of first place in the OAC with a 3-0 win at Otterbein University. The Polar Bears are now 4-0 in the OAC while Otterbein drops its first OAC loss leaving them in 2nd place at 3-1. The matchup between these two teams has always been a great soccer game to be a part of. A game filled with emotion from both teams, great soccer with great individual players from each team, and we know it’s going to be a battle for 90 minutes. Unfortunately, we have been on the losing end of the most recent matches with Otterbein until yesterday afternoon. The team was eager to avenge the regular season double overtime loss from last season as well as the overtime loss in the conference tournament from 2010.

Much of the first half was played in the middle 1/3 of the field as both teams battled to gain momentum. Each team had their chances to get on the scoreboard but a goal was not to be found in the first half. After the half and with renewed energy, the Polar Bears wasted no time in making their mark as Freshman Kristina Klusek placed a composed finish in the back of the Cardinal net less than 30 second into the half. Klusek found herself in the Otterbein penalty area, beat a defender, beat the gk who came off her line, and then placed her first goal over a defender covering for the gk in goal. Northern seemed to gain the momentum from there on but the Cardinals were quick to step up the pressure. However, ONU would answer back in the 73rd minute as Senior Alyssa Merrick would find Klusek just outside of the 18 to send in her second goal of the afternoon. The duo would link up again to finish off the game just 3 minutes later as Klusek would find the far upper corner about 20 yards from goal to earn her first collegiate hat trick. Overall, the entire Northern squad would put on a solid display on both the attacking and defensive fronts. The Polar Bear back line and keeper Erin Waehner would earn the fifth shutout of the year and third straight against some very tough competition. Up next, ONU returns home to host Baldwin Wallace this Saturday to celebrate Senior Day.