Season Review: Men’s Soccer caps successful 2023 with second straight Sweet 16 appearance

By Wes Mayberry

ADA — The Ohio Northern men's soccer team is on a roll under fifth-year head coach Chris Matejka.

After winning the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season championship, advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament and finishing 13-4-5 in 2022, the Polar Bears experienced similar success in 2023 despite battling a tough schedule. The result was an OAC Tournament title, another NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance and a 13-6-4 overall record.

For their efforts, Matejka and assistant coaches Seth Owings, Damon Spaeth and Dave Knapp were named 2023 Region VII Coaching Staff of the Year by United Soccer Coaches.

"Being named Region Coaching Staff of the Year is a real honor, and it's an even bigger honor to share the sidelines with such a great coaching staff," Matejka said. "This award isn't possible without the players — they do the work all year and accept the responsibility of aiming to be one of the best teams in the country."

Coming off last season's success, ONU entered 2023 ranked No. 13 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Polar Bears went 5-4-1 in September and fell out of the rankings but rebounded for a 6-1-1 record in October, ending the regular season with four straight victories by a combined score of 20-3 and finishing second in the OAC with a 7-1-1 mark.

As the No. 2 seed in the OAC Tournament, Northern advanced past third-seeded Mount Union in a penalty kick shootout in the semifinals and went on to get a 3-1 victory at top-seeded Otterbein for the championship. It was the program's eighth OAC Tournament title and first since 2015.

A difficult regular-season schedule featuring eight teams — Kenyon, Calvin (Mich.), Ohio Wesleyan, Rose-Hulman (Ind.), North Central (Ill.), Colorado College and OAC foes John Carroll and Otterbein — that went on to play in the NCAA Tournament undoubtedly helped the Polar Bears prepare for postseason play.

The OAC champs proceeded to advance past site host Lynchburg (Va.) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, setting up a matchup with top-ranked Messiah (Pa.). Undeterred by the seemingly daunting task, the Polar Bears got a 1-0 win over Messiah, ending the Falcons' 43-match unbeaten streak that dated back to November 21, 2021. Junior Brenden Gervers (Grand Blanc, Mich.) provided the game-winning goal in the 26th minute on an assist from senior Will Shaffer (Galena/St. Francis DeSales) while junior Lucas Hickey (Conroe, Tex./Oak Ridge) tallied six saves and the shutout in goal.

"Messiah is one of the best teams in the country for a reason — their style, their personality and their abilities. Being able to match that is always difficult, but we had shown we could play with anyone all season," Matejka said. "That game was just another test, and you have to play your best that time of year. It was great for us to showcase our talents at both ends of the field for 90 minutes."

That victory gave ONU its fifth Sweet 16 appearance in program history and a rematch with Colorado College. The two teams played to a 1-1 draw in Ada during the regular season, but the Tigers came away with a 1-0 victory in double overtime at site host Tufts (Mass.) in the rematch to end Northern's season.

"To be the best, you have to beat the best, and with a difficult first- and second-round draw in the NCAA Tournament, we knew we were up against it on paper. It became time to prove what we have built and worked so hard for over the years," Matejka said. "While it wasn't the way we wanted it to end, we are still proud of the strides we made later on in the season. Getting to travel to Virginia and Boston in the tournament is a great experience for our guys, and to have President Baumann, Athletic Director Mr. Simmons, and our parents and supporters by our side was a phenomenal addition to the history of this program."

As a team, the Polar Bears finished the year leading the OAC in total goals (58), assists (56) and points (172) while ranking second in goals per game (2.52) and third in GAA (1.06). The late-season run of success saw the team rise from unranked to No. 15 in the final United Soccer Coaches Poll.

Individually, several Polar Bears earned accolades for their play on the field in 2023. Shaffer and junior Ryan Sommerfeld (Dublin/Coffman) were named to the College Sports Communicators NCAA Division III Academic All-America First Team. That duo joined Gervers as United Soccer Coaches All-Region VII Second Team and All-OAC First Team selections, and Hickey and junior Noah Zebrak (Cleveland/St. Ignatius) were All-OAC Second Team picks for the second straight year.

Sommerfeld played in all 23 games in 2023, starting 20 of them. He finished with a team-high 11 goals and 27 points while adding five assists. He tied for the OAC lead in goals and ranked third in the conference in points and 10th in assists. He was named OAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 23 after totaling a combined three goals and one assist against Wilmington and Muskingum.

In 49 career games, including 28 starts, he has 42 points on 16 goals and 10 assists.

"Ryan stepped up in a huge way this season, aiming to be one of the best in the OAC," Matejka said. "His dribbling ability and attacking sense made him a constant threat game in and game out. It's tough to take somebody like that off the field."

Shaffer ranked second on the team in points (26) and goals (10) this season and tied for the team lead in assists with six while starting all 21 games in which he played. Now a two-time All-OAC honoree, he ranked fourth in the OAC in goals and assists and fifth in points and was named to the All-OAC Tournament Team. He earned OAC Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 5 after scoring a combined three goals against Kenyon and Oberlin.

Shaffer has started all 43 of his matches at ONU and has 37 points on 13 goals and 11 assists.

"Will is a leader of men and is one of the hungriest players I've had the privilege of coaching. He always wants more," Matejka said. "He brings character and his voice in training and games and can also step up and be on the scoresheet."

Gervers was part of an ONU defensive unit that held opponents to a .117 shooting percentage in 2023. Offensively, he posted 11 points on four goals and three assists.

In 61 career games, including 42 starts, he has 17 points on six goals and five assists.

"Brenden is such a straightforward type of player. He is one of the best defenders in the OAC and rarely makes mistakes. He can start attacks just as well as end them defensively," Matejka said. "Despite being a center back, nobody wants to get in the way of his shot."

Hickey was twice named OAC Defensive Player of the Week in 2023 and was a member of the OAC All-Tournament Team. He started all 23 games in goal, tallying 53 saves with five shutouts, a .679 save percentage and 1.08 GAA.

In 35 career games, including 31 starts, Hickey boasts a 19-7-5 record in goal with 81 saves, six shutouts, a .692 save percentage and 1.13 GAA.

"Lucas was deserving of All-OAC honors because he's one of the best, and I can't wait to see what he does next year," Matejka said. "His distribution is incredible, and he always finds a way to come up big for us, including in big-time penalty kick shootout performances."

Zebrak joined Gervers as another key member of the ONU defense in 2023, starting 21 of his 23 matches. His lone goal of the year came in the OAC Tournament finals at Otterbein, giving him nine career points on four goals and one assist in 51 games, including 41 starts.

"Noah leads from the back line and anchors our defensive efforts. He understands the game so well and organizes his troops, taking pressure off of our goalkeeper," Matejka said. "Calmness is something he brings, as he rarely gets flustered. He provides a great balance to our attack, and I'm excited to see him grow even more as a leader on and off the field."

Other honorees from 2023 included juniors Stephen Duggan (Saginaw, Mich./Freeland) and Sam McKee (Mason), who were named to the OAC All-Tournament Team, and junior Kellan Minch (Beavercreek), who earned an OAC Offensive Player of the Week accolade on Oct. 16 after recording two goals and two assists against Heidelberg. He finished the year with six goals and two assists for 14 points.

Other top performers included freshman Colin Gottron (Dayton/Centerville), junior Ryan Parker (Lexington) and senior Cade Winchester (Knoxville, Tenn./Alcoa), who finished with a combined 36 points. Gottron tied Shaffer for the team lead with six assists and added four goals for 14 points. Parker finished with 12 points on four goals and four assists, and Winchester added 10 points on five goals.

Other Polar Bears who played in 15-plus games in 2023 included juniors Gavin Marshall (Troy) and Tanner Locke (Canton, Mich./Salem), sophomores Alex Shaffer (Galena/St. Francis DeSales) and Gage Foster (Mason) and freshmen Enzo Bordogna (Almont, Mich./Brother Rice), Vinnie Chaput (Canton, Mich./Salem) and Phil Vlastaris (Fairview Park/St. Ignatius).

The Polar Bears also shined off the field, earning six CSC Academic All-District honors and a league-best 11 Academic All-OAC selections.

Sommerfeld, Zebrak, Duggan, Winchester and Will and Alex Shaffer earned Academic All-District distinction and joined Locke, Foster, senior Jacob Grant (Westerville/North), junior Ashton Ochsner (Floyds Knobs, Ind./Floyd Central) and sophomore Jacob Davis (Louisville, Ky./Saint Xavier) as Academic All-OAC honorees.