Season Review: Women’s Lacrosse caps 2022 season with second straight OAC Tournament appearance

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — The Ohio Northern women's lacrosse team continued showing growth throughout the 2022 season, capping it with its second consecutive appearance in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.

The Polar Bears qualified for the OAC Tournament for the first time in program history in 2021 and claimed the No. 6 seed for the event this season after going 3-5 in conference play. A loss at No. 3 seed Mount Union in the quarterfinals ended their season with an overall mark of 7-10.

"We did a lot of great things this season, and making the OAC Tournament for the second straight year shows that this program is on the right path," seventh-year head coach Beth Hemminger said.

The Polar Bears were led by their trio of All-Conference selections in senior Kate Naugle (Moon Township, Pa./Moon Area), junior Meredith Miller (Noblesville, Ind.) and sophomore Sydney Kilgore (Pleasant Plain/Little Miami). Naugle and Miller were named to the All-OAC Second Team, and Kilgore was an Honorable Mention selection.

Naugle ranked second on the team with 38 ground balls and third with 21 caused turnovers while tallying two points on one goal and one assist. A four-year starter on defense, Naugle ranks fifth all-time at ONU in ground balls (105) and 10th in caused turnovers (41).

"Kate has been a staple for us over the past four years, and for her to get All-OAC recognition this year is awesome because she is so deserving," Hemminger said. "She has worked extremely hard and is a very consistent player, and she had a standout season this year. She is definitely going to be hard to replace."

Now a two-time All-OAC selection after earning Honorable Mention honors as a sophomore, Miller led the team with 36 goals, 45 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers in 2022. The latter two totals both ranked seventh in the OAC. A three-year starter in the midfield, Miller ranks fourth in program history in caused turnovers (54), seventh in goals (67), points (71) and draw controls (62) and eighth in ground balls (83).

"Meredith is a really consistent player who gets it done both offensively and defensively," Hemminger said. "She plays with a lot of heart and passion, which is contagious for the rest of the team, and she's getting more confident as a leader."

Kilgore, who was a Second Team All-Conference selection and two-time OAC Offensive Player of the Week as a freshman, finished third on the team with 32 goals from her attack position this season despite missing the last five games due to injury. She also tied Miller for third on the team with 39 points. In 25 career games during two injury-shortened seasons, Kilgore ranks fourth all-time in goals (81), second in assists (27), third in points (108) and fifth in draw controls (87).

"Sydney is one of our main offensive threats. She is a spark plug that gets things going on the offensive end, and her teammates play off of her really well," Hemminger said. "It's unfortunate to see her go through another injury, but she's the type of person who just keeps grinding to work to come back."

The Polar Bears averaged just over 12 goals per game in 2022 and had 14 different goal-scorers. Eight of those players recorded double-digit goal totals, including three with 30-plus.

"We have a lot of players who can step up and score for us, which makes us that much more dangerous offensively," Hemminger said.

Miller led the way in that department, and sophomore Elizabeth Graham (Riverside/Carroll) was second with 35 goals to go with a team-best 55 points, which ranked 10th in the OAC and nearly toppled the single-season program record of 57. Joining that duo with double-digit goal totals were Kilgore, sophomore Avary Snyder (Uniontown/Lake) with 27, freshman Keaghan Burden (Brunswick) with 21, junior Amanda Wells (Mason) with 16, sophomore Noel Orioli (Westerville/North) with 13 and sophomore Emma Perry (Pickerington/North) with 12.

Kilgore and Graham each recorded a team-best four hat tricks during the season. Miller added three such games, including a seven-goal effort in a win at Heidelberg, while Snyder had a pair of six-goal outings.

"Avary does everything so well and is one to watch going into next season," Hemminger said. "She came in this year and was more comfortable, confident and vocal. She's not afraid to go to goal, and she's a really strong defender. She gets better and better every year."

Burden recorded a team-best 29 assists, which ranked sixth in the OAC, and finished second on the team in points with 50. Her assist total is a program record for a single season and ranks her first on ONU's all-time career leaderboard.

"Keaghan played really well this year," Hemminger said. "She and Elizabeth played off of each other really well, and it's going to be really exciting seeing them play together next season because they have a year under their belt and know what to expect and what they need to work on."

Graham ranked second on the team in assists this season with 20 as part of her team-high point total.

"Elizabeth really made an impact offensively for us this season," Hemminger said.

Wells paced Northern with 72 draw controls, which ranked sixth in the OAC, and set a program single-game record with 16 draw controls in a win over Muskingum. She will enter her senior season with 144 career draw controls, which ranks second all-time at ONU, along with 79 ground balls and 29 caused turnovers in 38 games. She has 42 career points on 31 goals and 11 assists.

"Amanda is a super consistent player who gets things done all over the field," Hemminger said. "You want her to have the ball because you know good things are going to happen when she does."

Hemminger also praised the play of sophomore Taylor Hannam-Zatz (Oak Hill, Va./Chantilly).

"Taylor really came into her own this year as one of our more consistent defenders and is going to be someone we really rely on next year," Hemminger said.

In goal, sophomore Molly Dixson (Cannonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) played in 13 games with 10 starts and earned OAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 15 after tallying a combined eight saves as ONU went 1-1 against Southwestern (Tex.) and Northwestern (Minn.). She finished the season with a 4-6 record to go with 65 saves and a 10.51 GAA in 639:11 of game action. In 30 career games, including 20 starts, Dixson is tied for second all-time at ONU in wins (9), ranks third in saves (135) and goalie minutes (1,160:07) and fifth in GAA (12.72).

Sophomore Chloe Millican (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) made seven starts in goal this season and posted a 3-4 record with 63 saves and a 13.08 GAA in 380:49 of playing time. She ranks fourth all-time at ONU in career saves (84), goalie minutes (552:27) and GAA (12.27).

"Both Molly and Chloe played well this year," Hemminger said. "Having two goalies with very different playing styles allows us to be more versatile at the position, and I'm excited to see what they do next season with another year of experience under their belt."

The Polar Bears also succeeded in the classroom this year, garnering seven Academic All-OAC accolades. That list included Kilgore, Naugle, Wells, Hannam-Zatz, junior Emmily Moses (Wooster) and sophomores Jocelyn Morelli (Saint Peters, Mo./Francis Howell Central) and Gabby Monastra (Wooster). It was the third such honor for Naugle in her career and second for Moses and Wells.

With just one graduating senior on the roster in 2022, the Polar Bears are looking to continue on their upward trajectory heading into next season.

"I'm excited for next season," Hemminger said. "Our players have another year of experience under their belt, and we should be a deeper team next year. Our returners are hungry. They weren't content with this season, which is good because that adds to their drive and fire to do better next year."