Men's Soccer kicks off 2011 season with 3-0 shutout at Franklin (Ind.)

By: Jay Garneau

FRANKLIN, Ind. — The Ohio Northern men's soccer team kicked off the 2011 season in dominating fashion by not allowing a single opponent shot in a 3-0 victory over Franklin (Ind.) at Faught Stadium, Thursday night.

With the win, the Polar Bears improve to 1-0, while the Grizzlies fall to 0-1.

ONU was led by senior Christian Huelsman, who tallied three points on a goal and an assist.

Junior Cameron Johnson put Northern on the board first in the 18th minute, putting in a pass from junior Chris Matejka for the first goal of the year.

The Polar Bears then notched two goals in under a minute, as an assist by senior Abrim Mueller led to Huelsman's first goal of the season in the 64th minute, making the score 2-0.

Just 24 seconds later, senior Zach Crawford put a Huelsman corner kick into the net to push the lead to 3-0.

Northern dominated the flow of the game, putting up 35 shots compared to Franklin's zero. Twenty-six of those shots were on goal.

ONU also recorded 13 corner kicks compared to Franklin's one.

Junior Mac Church didn't allow a goal, tallying his 19th career shutout and his first of the 2011 season.

The Polar Bears will be back in action this weekend as they participate in the Roger Taylor Classic at North Carolina Wesleyan, taking on Wisconsin-Oshkosh on Saturday and NC-Wesleyan on Sunday.

Both games are slated to begin at 2:30 p.m.