Review: Two OAC titles and another NCAA appearance highlight a steller 2011 Men's Soccer season
ADA — A talented group of seniors led the Ohio Northern men's soccer team to its second appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA playoffs of their four-year careers in a successful 2011 season.
That senior class guided ONU to a 20-3-2 overall record, including NCAA tournament wins over Rose-Hulman (Ind.) and Case Western, both by 2-0 scores, while also breaking the school records for wins by a graduating class (72) and shutouts in a season (14).
Head coach Brent Ridenour rounded out his 14th season with OAC Coach of the Year and the NSCAA Great Lakes Regional Coach of the Year accolades. His record as head of the ONU program now stands at 194-87-26.
A total of eight Northern players earned spots as All-Ohio Athletic Conference, with two earning special conference awards.
The team's leading scorer, junior Nate Bascom, earned OAC Forward of the Year honors for his season that included 41 points on 16 goals and nine assists, eight of those goals being game-winners.
Senior Cory Dobkins earned the OAC's Midfielder of the Year award after tallying four goals and seven assists, before an injury in the national playoffs abruptly ended his season.
Fellow senior Christian Huelsman completed his illustrious ONU career as the program's all-time leader in points, breaking Ridenour's record of 125 with 138 points of his own.
Recording 10 goals and nine assists this year, Huelsman also ranks second in program history with 53 goals and 32 assists.
Junior Cameron Johnson was second on the team in scoring, tallying 14 goals and five assists on the season to earn First Team All-OAC.
The ONU defense was stellar all year, and was rewarded with four All-Conference recipients in senior Abrim Mueller (First Team), senior Dustin Connor (Second Team) and junior Austin Windsor (Second Team).
Junior goalie Mac Church (Second Team) allowed a conference-best 0.76 goals per game, also leading the league with a .821 save percentage.
After a 6-0 start that included an upset of third-ranked Wisconsin-Oshkosh, the Polar Bears skyrocketed into the national rankings, moving as high as third in the country.
ONU then hit a rough patch that included a tie against Wittenberg and losses to Transylvania (Ky.) and then fourth-ranked Ohio Wesleyan.
The Polar Bears bounced back to go on an incredible 15-game unbeaten streak, including a 12-game winning streak in which ONU outscored opponents 42-2.
That momentum continued early in the NCAA Third Round game against OWU. The Polar Bears took a 2-0 lead into the 70th minute, but the OWU offense broke through for three goals in 15 minutes and ending ONU's season by a 3-2 score.
Despite the loss of eight seniors, including five starters, the Ohio Northern men's soccer team expects to build on the success and experience of 2011 as the team heads into 2012.