Gundlach, Schirmer lead Men’s Soccer to win at Mount Union in regular-season finale

By Wes Mayberry

ALLIANCE — Senior Seth Gundlach (Wilmington) and freshman Nolan Schirmer (Amelia/West Clermont) helped ensure the Ohio Northern men's soccer team closed out its 2021 regular season on a high note.

Gundlach and Schirmer scored one goal apiece in the Polar Bears' 2-0 victory over Mount Union at Mount Union Stadium on Saturday night.

Ohio Northern finishes the regular season at 10-6-3 overall and 5-3-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference while the Purple Raiders fall to 10-5-2 and 3-5-1.

The Polar Bears will enter next week's OAC Tournament as the No. 4 seed.

Gundlach got the scoring started on Saturday with a shot to the high left part of the goal that found the back of the net with 9:58 left in the opening half.

Gundlach's seventh goal of the season came on an assist from senior Cameron Picard (Dayton/Wayne).

Leading 1-0 at halftime, the Polar Bears added to it with Schirmer's goal 18:03 into the second half.

Schirmer's first career goal came on an assist from senior Matt Studenic (Wadsworth).

Trailing 2-0, the Purple Raiders fired three shots over the final two minutes but were unable to find the back of the net.

The ONU defense and senior goalkeeper John Lombardo (Solon) played well all game long in securing the shutout despite the Polar Bears trailing 16-11 in shots and 6-2 on corner kicks.

Lombardo made three saves in his eighth shutout of the season and 24th of his career, which ranks third all-time at ONU.

The Polar Bears return to the field on Tuesday when they host No. 5 seed Marietta in the OAC Tournament quarterfinals at Kerscher Stadium.