Five earn special awards as Women's Soccer lands nine on All-Ohio Athletic Conference list
By Caleb Scott
ADA — Five members of the Ohio Northern women's soccer team earned special awards as the Polar Bears saw nine athletes named All-Ohio Athletic Conference for the 2017 season.
Head coach Mark Batman was named OAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, while senior Hannah Reich (Howell, Mich.) was named the OAC Defender of the Year, sophomore Haley Moses (Mason) was dubbed the OAC Midfielder of the Year, sophomore Meagan Grierson (Miamisburg) was named the OAC Goalie of the Year and freshman Jenna Fuller (Countryside, Ill./Lyons Township) was named the OAC Freshman of the Year.
Reich, Moses, Grierson, senior Anna Niemeyer (Loveland) and sophomore Rose Nienaber (Cincinnatti/Oak Hills) were all named First Team All-OAC honorees, while sophomores Hannah Martin (Mason/Mount Notre Dame) and Fuller earned Second Team All-OAC honors, and senior Mary Kate Munz (Gahanna/Lincoln) and freshman Sydney Leshnak (Liberty Township/Mount Notre Dame) were named Honorable Mention All-OAC.
Reich, now a 4-time All-OAC honoree, was named First Team All-OAC for the second time in her career and earned the OAC Defender of the Year title for the first time in her career.
The senior has started 75 of 76 career games for ONU, including all 20 contests so far this season.
Reich is part of a Polar Bear defense that is tied with the school record 13 shutouts in a single season set in 1997 and also tied for the best single season mark of consecutive shutouts (7) in a single season, also set in 1997.
Moses, a 2-time All-OAC honoree, earned First Team honors for the first time in her career.
The sophomore is currently tied for fourth on the team in goals (4) and tied for third on the team in assists (4). Moses has played in and started 19 games this season.
For the second time in two years, Grierson has been named the OAC Goalkeeper of the Year. She was also named First Team All-OAC for the first time in her career.
The sophomore currently leads the team and OAC in shutouts (12) and goals against average (0.44).
She also ranks second in the OAC in both save percentage (.833) and goals allowed (9) this season.
With 17 career shutouts, Grierson is currently tied for sixth all-time in school history in the category and is on pace to break the sophomore record for goals against average in a season.
Niemeyer is now a 3-time All-OAC honoree after being named First Team All-Conference in 2017.
She earned the honor after competing in and starting all 20 games for ONU this season.
The senior currently ranks third on the team with seven goals and is tied for fourth on the team with three assists.
Nienaber, earned her first all-conference accolade of her career after being named First Team All-OAC as a forward in 2017.
The sophomore is currently tied for first on the team with 10 goals and is tied for fifth in the OAC in the category. She also ranks second on the team with five assists and ranks second on the team and fifth in the OAC with 25 points.
Martin was named Second Team All-OAC and earned her first all-conference accolade of her career.
The sophomore has appeared in and started in all 20 contests for ONU this season and has scored two goals and added three assists for ONU.
Fuller was named Second Team All-OAC, earning her first all-conference accolade. Fuller was also named the OAC Freshman of the Year, giving ONU the honor for the second consecutive season.
The freshman is tied for first on the team and fifth in the OAC with 10 goals. She also currently ranks first on the team and in the OAC with 11 assists.
Fuller leads the team and ranks third in the conference with 31 points and is tied for first all-time by a freshman at Northern with 11 assists in a single season, which was set by former Polar Bear Kristin Welk in 1997.
Munz earned her first career All-OAC honor after being named Honorable Mention All-OAC.
The senior defender has appeared in and started all 20 contests for ONU this season and has scored two goals and tallied three assists this season.
Leshnak was named Honorable Mention All-OAC as a defender and earned her first career all-conference accolade.
The freshman has started in all 20 games for ONU this season and has scored four goals, including two game winners in 2017.
Northern makes its return to the NCAA III Tournament on Saturday morning at 11:30 am as it hosts Penn St.-Behrend at Kerscher Stadium, looking to collect their first NCAA III Tournament victory since 2011.