Polar Bears Earn Regional and National Recognition!

Even though the 2011 run has ended, the team continues to be honored for their tremendous season. The NSCAA recently named three ONU Women’s Soccer players to the All Great Lakes Regional team. Junior Tara Tokar earned her second consecutive All Region honor being named to the NSCAA All Great Lakes Region First Team. The tri-captain was previously honored this year with first team All OAC as well as Academic All OAC recognition.

Joining Tokar on the first team is sophomore Sami Atkinson. This is the first All Region award for Atkinson, who led the OAC in points and goals scored. Sami was also awarded first team All OAC and second team Academic All District earlier this season. Atkinson had this to say about this honor “It feels awesome to be recognized as an all region player. I know that it is a real honor. I couldn’t have done it without my teammates and coaches. We all push each other in practice and support each other in games and it resulted in such a memorable season!”

Also receiving All Region honors is senior tri-captain Chelsea Chadwick. The 2011 OAC Defender of the Year earned her first All Region honor being named second team All Great Lakes region. “We had an amazing team this year that pushed each other hard every day and grew very close. I couldn’t have asked for a better senior season because of the girls and our coaches,” said Chadwick. Rounding out the All Region recognition for the Polar Bears is head coach Mark Batman as he was honored as Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year by the NSCAA.

Tokar was additionally named to the 2011 Division III NSCAA All America Team. “As honored as I am to receive these awards, they more importantly reflect our successful season as a team. I definitely feel that more of my teammates deserved similar recognition, but it was great to see our program finally earn some much-deserved respect regionally and nationally. I'm very excited to see how our program will continue to build off this successful season next year, as we aspire to set new standards for ONU Women's Soccer.” This is the first time Tokar has received recognition on the national level and only the second time that a Polar Bear has earned All America honors. Coach Batman had this to say about all the awards, “These girls are all very deserving of their accomplishments. They have been fantastic for us. Seeing Chelsea finally get recognized at this level is really special. She was a great teammate, player, and leader. I think all the awards are a tremendous reflection of our entire team. They are a fun, energetic, and competitive group, always wanting more. Getting a 2nd All American in as many seasons is really special and I feel we have other players who can accomplish this goal before their time is up with us as well. It’s a great individual accomplishment and great representation of our kids.”