The 2012 season has come to a close for the Polar Bears in the NCAA National Tournament. For the second consecutive year, Northern ends the season in the second round of the tournament with a 1-0 defeat. This year however, the circumstances were different than last as ONU took to the road to compete at Carnegie Mellon. Their first round opponent was first time NCAA Tourney participant Rochester Institute of Technology. The Tigers proved to be a tough first round opponent for the Polar Bears. Both teams came out of the gate hungry to make it to the next round. In the first half even play across the pitch was seen as each team attempted to find a break through moment. Even though the Tigers would deny an early chance at goal from Sami Atkinson they were unable to hold off the Northern attack for much longer. With less than 10 minutes to go in the half, first year player Hannah Moloney found herself on the end of a pass from Sami Atkinson in the box. Moloney collected the ball and sent her shot inside the near post to get ONU on the board. Northern would carry the momentum through the break and into the second half. Determined to force the tie, R.I.T would find an equalizer in the second half that would eventually send the game into overtime. Neither team were able to get an attack going in either overtime periods and as a result, penalty kicks were in order. Junior Colleen Kerger stepped up first for ONU and buried her PK past the Tiger keeper as did Sophomore Kristina Klusek in the second round to even the score. Junior keeper Kimmy Connor came up huge to make a tremendous diving save in the third round which allowed Sami Atkinson to put ONU ahead 3-2. Connor would deny the fourth shooter again this time making the save to her left which left Junior Sara Rutherford to place her PK that would send ONU into the second round.
The celebration wouldn't last long as ONU was set to prepare to take on the #17 team in the country and hosts CMU on Sunday. The Tartans advanced after defeating Cabrini College (9-6-4) on Saturday 5-0. With the win the Polar Bears were eager to advance for the first time into the sweet 16. Despite being put under early pressure from the start, the Northern defense managed to keep CMU off the board with solid team defense. However, CMU would convert on a free kick in the 10th minute to take the lead. Northern had a handful of opportunities to find an equalizer in the first half. The most notable chance came off an early through ball from Kristina Klusek to Freshman Morgan Miles on a breakaway. The Tartan keeper was able to make the save on the edge of the box and the team defense would preserve their lead through the half. Knowing they had a battle ahead of them, Northern took the momentum in the second half creating early scoring chances but were unable to convert. Late chances looked promising from Northern but the CMU defense was able to hang on for the win to advance. With the loss, the Polar Bears end their season at 13-5-5.
"This season was a season of firsts", said Head Coach Mark Batman. "The girls faced so much adversity all year and they grinded out games all season. This team was filled with fighters, and this past weekend, that's exactly what they had to do. Ending the regular season with four games in eight days was really hard for the girls, but they fought through it, just as they did at CMU. Kimmy Connor and our girls who made their penalties came up HUGE for us. That's what is great about our team; girls step up and are ready when we ask them to. Kimmy's two saves will forever be in my mind as well as Sara's winning penalty. Watching the girls rush Kimmy and Sara when she made the winning PK was one of the best memories I have of ONU Women's Soccer."
"Our seniors have been such a big part of our program the past four seasons. It's a great accomplishment for them to have made three trips to the NCAA's, have two conference championships, and leave as one of the most successful senior classes this program has ever seen. The seniors are going to be sorely missed. I'm so proud of the,, this team and what they accomplished together this season."
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