Goal by Ryan Sommerfeld leads No. 19 Men's Soccer to a 1-0 victory over Franciscan in First Round of NCAA III Tournament

GRANVILLE — A goal by senior Ryan Sommerfeld (Dublin/Coffman) led the No. 19-ranked Ohio Northern men's soccer team to a 1-0 victory over Franciscan in the First Round of the NCAA III Tournament on Saturday afternoon.

The Basics

• Records: #19 Ohio Northern (14-3-4 overall), Franciscan (13-2-5 Overall).
• Venue: Barclay-Thomsen Field — Granville, Ohio.

The Match

• Sommerfeld scored unassisted in the 19th minute to put ONU up 1-0.
• Senior Goalkeeper Lucas Hickey (Conroe, Tex./Oak Ridge) had five saves in goal for ONU.
• Hickey made several outstanding saves in the waning seconds of the match as the Barons were frantically seraching for the equalizer.
• His final save bounced near the goal line and senior Brenden Gervers (Grand Blanc, Mich.) cleared the ball just before it went into the gaol with less than five seconds left to perserve the victory.
• ONU out-shot Franciscan 23-13 and had a 9-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Notables

• Ohio Northern is making its 11th NCAA Tournament appearance and third in the last three seasons.
• The Polar Bears are 12-9-4 all-time in NCAA Tournament play, including a 5-3-3 record in First Round matches.
• This was the first meeting between the two teams in the history of Ohio Northern men's soccer.
• Senior Ryan Sommerfeld (Dublin/Coffman) leads the team this season with 25 points, nine goals and seven assists.
• Fifth-year senior Will Shaffer (Galena/St. Francis DeSales) is right behind with 20 points on seven goals and six assists.
• This is the 50th season of Ohio Northern men's soccer. The Polar Bears are now 541-298-79 all-time in program history.
• Sixth-year head coach Chris Matejka is now 70-30-20 at Ohio Northern.

Up Next

• The Polar Bears will return to action Sunday against No. 15 Denison in the Second Round of the NCAA III Tournament at 3 p.m.