Men’s Soccer: Ohio Northern (0-0-0 Overall) at #17 Kenyon (0-0-0 Overall)
Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, 5:15 p.m. — Mavec Field, Gambier, Ohio
Thursday's Preview: Thursday's game is the 2022 season opener for both Ohio Northern and Kenyon … The Polar Bears are coming off a 2021 season in which they finished 11-7-3 and advanced to the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals, playing a schedule that included six games against teams ranked in the final United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Poll … Under fourth-year head coach Chris Matejka, Northern returns 25 lettermen from last year's team, including three of their top five point-scorers … This year's team is led by fifth-year seniors Levi King and Bryan Kern … The OAC Freshman of the Year in 2018, King led the team in points (20) and assists (8) and ranked third in goals (6) last season en route to being selected to the All-OAC First Team as the conference's Midfielder of the Year … King finished 2021 tied for sixth in the OAC in points, ranked second in assists and tied for 12th in goals and was named to the United Soccer Coaches All-Region 7 Second Team and Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association All-Ohio First Team … King enters 2022 in eighth place on the program's all-time career points list … Kern tallied nine points on three goals and three assists last season and led the OAC in shots with 63 en route to earning All-OAC Second Team honors … Other key returners for ONU include seniors Jeff Firestone and Ian Conkey; juniors Cade Winchester and Ben Sundermann; and sophomores Ryan Sommerfeld, Tanner Locke, Sam McKee, Ashton Ochsner and Nolan Schirmer … The Polar Bears are turning to senior Josh Ellis in goal this season following the graduation of two-time OAC Goalkeeper of the Year John Lombardo … Ellis has played nearly 226 minutes through five games, including two starts, in three seasons at ONU and has allowed one goal while recording six saves and holding a 2-0-0 record with two shutouts … Kenyon enters the season ranked No. 17 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll, which is the same ranking it finished last season with … The Owls finished 16-3-1 last season and were 9-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference during the regular season … Kenyon finished as the runner-up to Denison in the 2021 NCAC Tournament and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, falling 2-1 to No. 8 Messiah … The Owls, the six-time defending NCAC regular season champions, were picked as the conference favorite for 2022, earning 79 points and seven of nine possible first-place votes in the league's preseason poll … Kenyon returns 29 players from its 2021 team, including six of its seven All-NCAC honorees … Senior Sebastian Gaese is back after tallying a team- and conference-high 12 goals in 2021 while adding a team-best 27 points … Senior Scott Upton and sophomore Gerardo Martinez return after finishing 2021 with 19 points apiece … Martinez, the 2021 NCAC Newcomer of the Year, led the team with nine assists and added five goals, while Upton posted seven assists with six goals … Kenyon also brings back sophomore goalkeeper Jack Pedreschi, who finished 2021 with a 14-2 record, 23 saves, a 0.57 GAA and .742 save percentage.
Returning ONU Statistical Leaders (2021 Stats):
| Goals | Assists | Points | Saves | GAA | ||||||||||||||
| 1. | King | 6 | 1. | King | 8 | 1. | King | 20 | 1. | Ellis | 1 | 1. | Ellis | 0.00 | ||||
| 2. | Kern | 3 | 2. | Locke | 5 | 2. | Kern | 9 | ||||||||||
| Sommerfeld | 3 | 3. | Kern | 3 | 3. | Sommerfeld | 8 |
Series Record: Kenyon leads the all-time series with Ohio Northern by a 10-2-2 margin … ONU is 1-6-1 all-time at Kenyon … In the teams' last meeting, Kenyon defeated Ohio Northern 2-0 in the NCAA Tournament in 2013 … Northern's last win over Kenyon was a 2-1 victory in 1985.
Head Coach Chris Matejka: Matejka is in his fourth season with the ONU men's soccer program … He has an overall coaching record of 30-17-7 for a winning percentage of .599.