No. 9 Men's Soccer bows out of NCAA III Tournament after dropping 1-0 decision to Calvin (Mich.)

By Caleb Scott

PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The No. 9-ranked Ohio Northern men's soccer team concluded its season and bowed out of the NCAA III Tournament as it fell to Calvin (Mich.) 1-0 Friday afternoon on the campus of Carnegie Mellon (Pa.).

The Polar Bears wrap up their season with a 17-2-4 record, while the Knights improve to 19-2-0 and advance to the second round to take Carnegie Mellon (Pa.).

Senior forward Matt Kinkopf (Hamilton/Cincinatti Christian) led the Polar Bear offense with two shots, both of which were on goal.

The lone goal of the contest came in the 31st minute as Calvin scored off of a corner kick to gain the 1-0 advantage.

After initially having the goal waved off due to a foul, the call would be reversed and the Knights took the 1-0 advantage.

The Polar Bears would pressure the Calvin defense early in the second half as they recorded four shots within the first 12 minutes of the second half.

Northern's defense would prove to be strong as well in the second half as they gave up only seven shots in the second half.

"Calvin is a really good team," said head coach Brent Ridenour. "They were able to get one early and that helped them quite a bit. We were hoping to get one early on but we weren't able to."

Junior Dean McNeil (Medina/Medina) led ONU defensively with five saves, including stopping a two on one situation in the 86th minute to keep the Polar Bears hopes alive.

Northern was outshot by Calvin by a 10-7 margin, while the Knights won the corner kick battle 7-3.

"I was very proud of the way our guys battled in the second half," said Ridenour. "We came out and really put pressure on them. We had our chances in the second half but they defended really well. I'm proud of these seniors and the awesome four years they have had here. They have continued the tradition of ONU Soccer and we will miss this group."