No. 23 Women's Soccer holds off late charge, runs win streak to seven with 2-1 victory at John Carroll

By Tim Glon

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS — The No. 23-ranked Ohio Northern women's soccer team withstood a late charge to post a 2-1 victory at John Carroll on Saturday evening at Don Shula Stadium.

The Polar Bears (11-2-2 overall) run their winning streak to seven matches and stay on top of the Ohio Athletic Conference with a 5-0-0 record.

The Blue Streaks fall to 7-5-2, 3-2-0.

Junior Jenna Fuller (Countryside, Ill./Lyons Township) scored with 13 minutes left in the first half, off a fantastic feed from sophomore Emma Barney (Oak Harbor).

Barney carried the ball deep into JCU territory, creating a 2-on-1 rush. She fed Fuller on her left, who beat the keeper far post from 10 yards out to get the Polar Bears on the board.

Senior Rose Nienaber (Cincinnati/Oak Hills) gave ONU a 2-0 lead just 5:56 into the second half on a blast from outside the box off an assist from Fuller.

John Carroll pulled within 2-1 with a goal off a corner kick in the 64th minute.

JCU kept the pressure on for the next 20 minutes or so, but the Polar Bear defense held firm and Northern controlled the final six minutes to close out the match.

ONU out-shot JCU 14-7 and enjoyed a 4-3 advantage in corner kicks.

"This was a good win for us," ONU head coach Mark Batman said. "A good win on the road against a solid team. We had some chances early in the match that could have given us some breathing room, but we handled their late pressure well and finished the game strong."

Senior Meagan Grierson (Dayton/Miamisburg) had three saves in goal, including a key save in the 84th minute, to record the victory for Ohio Northern.

The Polar Bears will return to action Wednesday evening with a 7 pm home match against Heidelberg at Kerscher Stadium.