Shaffer, Sommerfeld, Gervers headline list of 5 Polar Bears named All-OAC in Men’s Soccer
By Wes Mayberry
| 2023 All-OAC Men's Soccer Team (.pdf) |
ADA — Senior Will Shaffer (Galena/St. Francis DeSales) and juniors Ryan Sommerfeld (Dublin/Coffman) and Brenden Gervers (Grand Blanc, Mich.) were named to the All-Ohio Athletic Conference First Team to lead a list of five Polar Bears earning All-OAC honors in men's soccer for the 2023 season.
Juniors Noah Zebrak (Cleveland/St. Ignatius) and Lucas Hickey (Conroe, Tex./Oak Ridge) were All-OAC Second Team selections.
Shaffer, a midfielder, is now a two-time All-OAC honoree after earning Third Team recognition last season.
He has started 18 games this year and is tied for the team lead in assists (5) and ranks second on the team in goals (9) and points (23). He ranks fifth in the OAC in goals, sixth in points and eighth in assists.
Shaffer has started all 40 of his matches in his ONU career and has 34 points on 12 goals and 10 assists.
Sommerfeld and Gervers are both first-time All-OAC selections.
Sommerfeld has played in all 20 games, starting 17, for ONU this season and leads the team in goals (11) and points (26) to go with four assists for a Polar Bear offense that leads the OAC in goals (55), assists (53) and points (163). The forward has five game-winning goals on the year and is currently tied for the OAC lead in goals and ranks fourth in the conference in points.
Sommerfeld has posted nine multi-point games this year highlighted by his 12 points over the final three games of the regular season.
In 46 career games at ONU, Sommerfeld has 41 points on 16 goals and nine assists.
Gervers anchors an ONU defense that ranks third in the OAC in goals allowed (22) and GAA (1.09). Just 61 of opponents' 151 shots were on goal, and the Polar Bears held foes to a .146 shooting percentage.
Offensively, Gervers has nine points on three goals and three assists this season. He has 15 points on five goals and five assists in 58 career games, including 39 starts.
Both Zebrak and Hickey are now two-time All-OAC Second Team selections after earning the same honor a year ago.
Zebrak joins Gervers as another key member of the ONU defense. He has played in all 20 games, including 18 starts, and tallied his lone goal of the season in the OAC Tournament championship win at No. 25 Otterbein.
He has nine points on four goals and one assist in 48 career games, including 40 starts.
Hickey has started all 20 games in goal for ONU this season, posting a 1.11 GAA with 39 saves, a .639 save percentage and four shutouts. He ranks fourth in the OAC in GAA.
The highlight of Hickey's season thus far came in the OAC Tournament semifinal game against No. 22 Mount Union when he made two key stops during the penalty kick shootout to help ONU advance.
In 31 career games, including 28 starts, Hickey boasts a record of 18-6-4 with a 1.16 GAA, 67 saves, .670 save percentage and five shutouts.
The Polar Bears (12-5-3 overall) finished second in the OAC standings this year with a 7-1-1 record and won their eighth OAC Tournament championship to clinch an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
Making their 10th NCAA Tournament appearance, and second straight, the Polar Bears will face host Lynchburg (Va.) in the opening round on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.