Women’s Soccer defeats Hope (Mich.) to advance in NCAA Tournament

By Wes Mayberry

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CLEVELAND — The Ohio Northern women's soccer team's solid postseason showing continued Friday evening with a 2-0 victory over Hope (Mich.) in an NCAA Division III Tournament First Round game at DiSanto Field on the campus of Case Western Reserve University.

The Ohio Athletic Conference champion Polar Bears (14-4-3 overall) advance to the Second Round to face host and 10th-ranked Case Western Reserve, which defeated Chatham (Pa.) 5-0 earlier in the day, on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.

Hope closes out its season with a 13-5-2 overall record.

The Polar Bears' scoring came courtesy of sophomore Jill Roberts (Bellbrook/Carroll) and a Hope own goal.

Making its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance on Friday, Ohio Northern came out aggressive offensively.

Paired with a solid defensive effort, the Polar Bears out-shot the Flying Dutch 7-0 in what was a scoreless opening half until ONU was awarded a corner kick with just over three minutes remaining.

Sophomore Kylie Brown (Jamestown, N.Y./Southwestern Central) sent the corner kick into a heavily crowded goalie box, and the ball found its way into the back of the net off a deflection from a Hope player with 2:59 left in the opening half.

Roberts added to the Polar Bears' lead just 7:57 into the second half, finding the back of the net on a shot from close range to put ONU up 2-0.

The goal was Roberts' sixth of the season, tying her with sophomore Alaina Casey (Beavercreek/Carroll) for the team lead.

The Flying Dutch developed some offensive rhythm in the second half, attempting 10 shots, including six on goal. But they were unable to score as ONU secured its 14th shutout of the season.

"I thought our effort was great," 18th-year head coach Mark Batman said. "Hope started to press a little more in the second half, and the girls did a great job of absorbing it and not allowing it to break us down, and we closed things out."

Fresh off being named the 2021 Ohio Athletic Conference Goalkeeper of the Year, senior Kristy Catrine (Springboro) made six saves in securing her 13th shutout of the season and 21st of her career.

Catrine is now tied with Heather Davidson ('97) for second in program history in single-season shutouts, and she ranks fifth all-time in career shutouts.

"We've had an amazing season," Catrine said. "What makes this team special is that we do everything together, and we're always building each other up."

Junior Lauren Naso (Grosse Ile, Mich.) agreed.

"We're big believers that it takes everyone, both on and off the field, to succeed and to win, and tonight was an example of how both the atmosphere on the field and everyone working hard as well as the atmosphere on the bench came together to help us get the win."

The teams finished the game even in shots, 10-10, while ONU held a 6-1 edge in corner kicks.