No. 3 Men's Soccer battles to 1-1 tie against Wittenberg

By: Jay Garneau

ADA — The third-ranked Ohio Northern men's soccer team battled to a 1-1 tie with Wittenberg at the ONU Soccer Field, Tuesday evening.

Ohio Northern moves to 6-0-1 overall, while Wittenberg is 3-1-1.

After a scoreless first half, junior Nate Bascom snuck a shot past Wittenberg goalie Michael Lambeck into the corner of the goal off a Greg Stawicki assist, making it a 1-0 ONU lead in the 51st minute.

In the 82nd minute, a Wittenberg shot by Stefan Latham deflected off an ONU defender into the net for an own goal, making it 1-1.

The Polar Bears had a number of opportunities in the remaining portion of regulation but were unable to put one on the scoreboard.

Lambeck stopped shots from Stawicki, Bascom and junior Cameron Johnson in the remainder of the second half, sending the game to the first overtime.

Four more ONU shots in overtime were off target, before ONU had its best chance in the second overtime.

A minute and a half into the period, Stawicki drilled a shot that appeared to be headed for the corner of the goal, but Lambeck made a diving stop to save the game.

The last solid chance for Northern came in the 109th minute when senior Abrim Mueller had a free kick from about 30 yards out, but the shot sailed high and over the net.

ONU outshot the Tigers 27-15, including 7-1 in overtime. Eleven of Northern's shots were on goal compared to seven for Wittenberg.

The Polar Bears will return to action when they travel to Transylvania (Ky.) for a non-conference game at 1 p.m.