Women’s Soccer wins second consecutive OAC Tournament championship
By Wes Mayberry
COLUMBUS — The Ohio Northern women's soccer team defeated Capital 1-0 on Saturday afternoon at Bernlohr Stadium, earning its second straight Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament championship.
"We told the girls, 'Go find a way to have that special moment that you deserve,' and they did that today," ONU head coach Mark Batman said. "I'm really proud of these girls."
The second-seeded Polar Bears improve to 13-1-5 overall while the top-seeded Comets fall to 12-3-3.
As OAC Tournament champions, the Polar Bears earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. Game times, locations and opponents will be announced on Monday during a selection show at 2 p.m.
This is ONU's fourth OAC Tournament title in the past six seasons and is the first time in program history that the Polar Bears have won titles in back-to-back seasons.
"We were told coming into the game that we had never won back-to-back OAC Tournament championships, so that was our goal," ONU junior Jill Roberts (Bellbrook/Carroll) said. "We wanted to come out and start strong so we could come out on top, and sure enough, we did."
Roberts scored the game-winning goal for the Polar Bears, coming off an assist from senior Kylie Brown (Jamestown, N.Y./Southwestern Central) in the 61st minute.
"Coming out of halftime, my coach told me I needed to step up and be big in big moments," Roberts said. "I saw the ball coming at me, and I knew there was no one on my right, so I turned and shot, and it went in."
Batman was proud of how Roberts rose to the occasion in scoring her sixth goal of the season.
"She has wanted that moment all season, and she showed great composure there," he said. "I'm really happy for her."
Saturday's victory increased the Polar Bears' unbeaten streak to 13 games and marked their eighth consecutive shutout.
ONU senior goalkeeper Becky Moss (Lebanon/Mount Notre Dame) made six saves in the game, posting her 14th shutout of the season. She commended the defenders in front of her for the effort.
"I couldn't do it without my backs," Moss said. "They've worked really hard all year, and we've become a really great team back there, and our communication has really stepped up since the beginning of the year."
Batman also praised the play of Moss and the defense.
"I'm really happy with our group effort defensively," he said. "Becky needed to make a couple of big saves, and she did that."
The Polar Bears played well defensively all game long, but the Comets had one last-gasp attempt that put the victory in question.
With just over a minute left, Tori Kittrell headed a ball off of a corner kick, but the ball ricocheted off the crossbar and out of danger.
"That was an extremely dangerous play, and it really got the blood pressure going," Moss said.
The Comets finished the game with an 11-8 edge in shots while Northern had a 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
