2011 Season Comes To An End

All good things must come to an end and the season end has come for ONU Women's Soccer. Despite controlling the tempo and outshooting their opponent by almost double, the Polar Bears record breaking season came to an end on Sunday. On a blustery Sunday in Ada, the Polar Bears took on the Bombers from Ithaca College in the second round of the NCAA tournament. With their sites on their first trip to the NCAA Sweet 16, Northern began the match with relentless pressure on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. While stingy defensive pressure allowed the Bombers just a single shot in the first half, the Polar Bears took 11 shots and created many dangerous scoring opportunities. Solid goalkeeping from Ithaca and a few unfortunate hits off the post and crossbar kept the scoreline at zero for the Polar Bears. Northern took their momentum from the first half and continued to apply pressure to the entire Ithaca squad in the second half despite having the wind now at a disadvantage. The ONU attack continued to keep the Bombers on their heels as the Polar Bears still found scoring chances in the Ithaca defensive half. However, in the 57th minute Ithaca managed to capitalize on one of their offensive runs to get on the scoreboard. With a "never say die" mentality the Polar Bears continued to search for the equalizer until the final seconds ticked off the game clock. With the loss, Northern ends their season with an overall record of 16-3-2. In what was truly memorable season full of highlights, program firsts and memories ONU Women's soccer has much to be proud of in 2011.


“This season was a fantastic and steady effort from every member of our program,” said head coach Mark Batman. “All season we preach team defense and how important it is, and I felt we’ve played very well this season. We knew all season we would create scoring chances, but team defense keeps you in games and wins tournament games. Our girls really played well this past weekend and it’s a great cap off to the careers of our seniors. I know losses like this are extremely difficult, but I told the team they should be proud of their teammates, themselves, and all of their accomplishments from this past year. It’s been a fantastic ride and it’s unfortunate that it ended, especially when we know and feel we could and should be playing this week.”

The ONU seniors have accomplished so much in their careers: 4 trips to the OAC Tournament, an OAC Championship, 2 trips to the NCAA National Tournament, a team G.P.A. above 3.25 each season, a European adventure, some great memories and moments to last a lifetime. They’ve really helped ONU soccer get on the national map and have set the standard for future Polar Bears to compete and win championships.
Thank you seniors for all you have given to our program. You’ll never be replaced, only remembered! See you all next fall for another exciting season of ONU W Soccer.