Beckett, Straus lead list of 5 Polar Bears named All-OAC in Women’s Soccer
By Wes Mayberry
| 2023 All-OAC Women's Soccer Team (.pdf) |
ADA — Junior Alyssa Beckett (Monroe) and senior Bri Straus (Fishers, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) were named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference First Team to lead a list of five Polar Bears earning All-OAC honors in women's soccer for the 2023 season.
Junior Emma Bowman (Novi, Mich./Northville) and sophomore Haley Cannon (Oregon/Clay) were named to the All-OAC Second Team, and senior Jill Roberts (Bellbrook/Carroll) was a Third Team selection.
Beckett is now a three-time First Team All-OAC selection. The OAC Midfielder of the Year in 2022, she scored a team-high four goals while tallying one assist and ranked second on the team with nine points in 19 games, including 15 starts, this season.
Beckett has played in 59 games with 54 starts in her ONU career and has 37 points on 16 goals and five assists.
Straus earns the fourth All-OAC accolade of her career. She was a First Team honoree as a freshman and was named to the Second Team in each of the past two seasons.
Straus started all 20 games this season and led a Polar Bear defense that limited opponents to just 4.1 shots on goal and 1.05 goals per game while tallying seven shutouts. ONU ranks second in the OAC in shutouts and third in goals per game allowed.
Straus has started all 73 games she has played in her ONU career and has six points on two goals and two assists to her credit.
Bowman has now earned All-OAC Second Team status in back-to-back seasons. The midfielder led ONU with nine assists a year ago and ranked second on the team in that category with five in 2023. She also scored one goal to finish the year with seven points in 20 games with 19 starts. Her five assists rank seventh in the OAC.
Bowman has 24 points on three goals and 18 assists in 61 career games, including 60 starts, at ONU. Her assist total is three shy of breaking into ONU's all-time top 10 in that category.
Cannon, a forward, is a first-time All-OAC selection after tallying team highs in points (12) and assists (6) while ranking second on the team with three goals in 2023.
After playing in 12 matches off the bench as a freshman, Cannon proved to be a spark to the Polar Bear offense this season, playing in 18 games with 11 starts. Her assist total ranks sixth in the OAC.
Roberts joins Straus as a four-time All-OAC honoree. The forward was named to the Third Team as a freshman, the Second Team as a sophomore and the First Team as a junior.
Roberts closed the season with five points on two goals and one assist in 15 games, including 10 starts. Both goals were game-winners.
In 69 career games, including 64 starts, at ONU, Roberts has recorded 36 points on 14 goals and eight assists.
The Polar Bears posted their 20th consecutive winning season this year, finishing 10-9-1 overall. They placed third in the OAC standings with a mark of 7-2-0 and advanced to the OAC Tournament finals for the eighth straight year and 18th time overall.