Season Preview: Women's Soccer hopes increased depth can lead to another OAC title run
By Tim Glon
| 2021 Women's Soccer Schedule |
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's soccer team has been on quite a run in the Ohio Athletic Conference the past 14 seasons.
Northern, under 17th-year head coach Mark Batman, has won five OAC Regular Season titles, finished league runners-up six more times, and has won two of the past OAC Tournament titles.
The Polar Bears have also won two of the last three OAC Regular Season titles and are 33-1-1 in their last 35 regular season league contests.
This year's 2020 squad will play its games on March and April of 2021 after the traditional fall schedule was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Batman and his squad welcome back 16 letterwinners and five starters from the 2019 squad that went a perfect 9-0-0 in league play, won the OAC Tournament title and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA III Tournament.
Add to the mix 11 talented freshmen and it's easy to see why optimism abounds in the Polar Bear camp.
"We have great depth and parity," Batman said. "The competition in practice has been terrific. We've had great leadership from our returning players and our new faces will contribute immediately. We feel very good about where we are as a program."
Here is a breakdown of the 2020 Ohio Northern women's soccer team, by position:
Defense
Senior Sydney Leshnak (Cincinnati/Mount Notre Dame) and junior Carissa Beckham (Mason/Mount Notre Dame) return to anchor the defensive line.
Leshnak is a two-time OAC Defender of the Year, a two-time All-Great Lakes Region honoree and a three-time All-Conference award winner that has started all 67 matches during her three seasons as a Polar Bear. She has eight goals, five assists and 21 points in her career from the back row.
Beckham was named Second Team All-OAC as a sophomore in 2019 and is an Academic All-OAC and Academic All-District honoree.
Sophomore Jane Reiring (Cincinnati/Country Day) started 16 matches as a freshman in 2019 and is an early favorite to step into a regular starting position.
Senior Anne Major (Okemos, Mich.) is a two-time Academic All-OAC honoree that has three goals to her credit. She has played in 39 matches off the bench and is looking for her turn in the starting lineup this spring.
Sophomore Victoria Tromba (Madison) will join with three incoming freshmen to battle for playing time and a starting position as well.
"All eight of our defenders are capable players," Batman said. "Leshnak has been the best defender in our league two years running and Carissa had has two great years and keeps improving. We are deep and talented on defense and are very excited about this group."
Midfield
The Polar Bears feature eight returning letterwinners and four talented freshman in what is the deepest position group on the squad.
Seniors Abigail Mathews (Liberty Township/Lakota East) and Siena Ward (Newport Beach, Cal./Newport Harbor) return as starters at two of the midfield positions.
Mathews is an Academic All-Conference award winner that has started 42 matches in her career and has three career goals.
Ward has 30 career starts and nine career goals in 58 matches.
Sophomores Lauren Naso (Grosse Ile, Mich.) and Allison Contenza (Rocky River) played in 23 and 22 matches, respectively, as freshmen a year ago are the other two returning regulars in the midfield.
Juniors Caroline Goeller (Dayton/Oakwood), Maggie Ohmer (Milford) and Tara Morris (Monroe) and sophomore Autumn Riedel (Lancaster, N.Y.) also return after gaining valuable playing time and look to post breakout seasons this spring.
"We are very deep in the middle of the field," Batman said. "We have a great mix of talent, experience and youth. The competition has been great in practice and will make us a better group this season."
Forward
Sophomores Cienna Kuhn (Elida) and Hailey McGuire (Lone Tree, Colo./Highlands Ranch) are the two returning letterwinners up front.
Four freshmen have also joined the offensive ranks and have caused a highly contested six-way battle for the two starting spots.
"We have a great deal of competition at forward," Batman said. "We feel very good about our two returners and our freshmen were outstanding in our fall scrimmages. This is a group has good depth and I am excited to watch develop."
Goalkeeper
With the graduation of four-time All-Conference goalie Meagan Grierson, the keeper job is wide open this season.
Sophomore Kristy Catrine (Springboro) and incoming freshman Taylor Pritchett (Dayton/Northmont) will battle for the starting spot.
Catrine saw brief action as a freshman but both players were very good in the fall intrasquad scrimmages.
"Both of these ladies played well in the fall and we would be comfortable with either one in goal," Batman said. "As in all of our position groups, the competition in practice will make each player better."
Schedule
The 2020 schedule will feature a nine-match, round-robin OAC slate starting March 14, 2021, with a crossover match to conclude the season on April 18.
The top two teams will compete for the OAC title, while the other eight teams will be able to add a tenth match if desired.
"We look at this season as an opportunity to play the sport that we all love," Batman said. "Our goal as a program is to be the team that is the most successful getting through the season and staying healthy. Whoever can stay the healthiest will have a hugh advantage. We want to stay healthy and enjoy every chance we get to be together as a group and play."