Three second half goals lead No. 5 Men's Soccer to 3-1 victory over Franklin (Ind.) in season opener

By: Andrew Korba

FRANKLIN (Ind.) -- The No. 5 Ohio Northern men's soccer team scored three second half goals to pick up a 3-1 win over host Franklin (Ind.) at the Daniel Schuetz Community Classic on Friday night.

The Polar Bears now stand at 1-0 on the season, while the Grizzlies fall to 0-1.

After trailing 1-0 after the first half, ONU reeled off three goals in a 30 minute span to take a 3-1 lead.

Northern tied the game at 1-1 at the 51:20 match, when sophomore Chase Mueller sent a ball into the box that senior Michael Grossnickle headed into the goal.

ONU then took the lead in the 75th minute on a goal from freshman Ryan Prescott. Senior Matt Fleming picked up the assist on the play.

Senior Jeremy Barnes put the game away six minutes later, when he buried a free kick to the upper right corner of the net, making it 3-1 in favor of the Polar Bears.

Freshman Evan Bader (1-0) picked up his first career win in goal, making two saves on the night.

ONU held a 10-6 advantage in shots, including a 7-3 margin in shots on goal.

The Polar Bears also took 10 corner kicks in the match, while the Grizzlies took only one.

Ohio Northern will return to action on Saturday, when it takes on Rose-Hulman (Ind.) at 5 pm.