Season Review: Women's Soccer climbs to new heights in 2017
By Caleb Scott
ADA — The Ohio Northern women's soccer program climbed to new heights in 2017, following one of the best defensive seasons in school history and an NCAA Tournament run that bested any other run under the guidance of 14th-year head coach Mark Batman.
The Polar Bears posted an impressive 20-2-2 overall record, while posting a perfect 9-0 record in the Ohio Athletic Conference to claim the OAC Regular Season Title.
Northern also claimed the OAC Tournament title for the first time since the 2012 campaign, earning an automatic bid to the 2017 NCAA Tournament.
ONU landed nine All-Conference athletes, while five members of the team earned special awards.
Head coach Mark Batman was named OAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career, while senior Hannah Reich (Howell, Mich.) was named the OAC Defender of the Year, sophomore Haley Moses (Mason) was dubbed the OAC Midfielder of the Year, sophomore Meagan Grierson (Miamisburg) was named the OAC Goalie of the Year and freshman Jenna Fuller (Countryside, Ill./Lyons Township) was named the OAC Freshman of the Year.
Reich, Moses, Grierson, senior Anna Niemeyer (Loveland) and sophomore Rose Nienaber (Cincinnatti/Oak Hills) were all named First Team All-OAC honorees, while sophomores Hannah Martin (Mason/Mount Notre Dame) and Fuller earned Second Team All-OAC honors, and senior Mary Kate Munz (Gahanna/Lincoln) and freshman Sydney Leshnak (Liberty Township/Mount Notre Dame) were named Honorable Mention All-OAC.
Junior Sarah Puntel (Strongsville), Niemeyer and Moses all garnered Academic All-OAC honors for their efforts on the field and in the classroom.
Batman and his staff were also named the Great Lakes Region Coaching Staff of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches after guiding the Polar Bears to one of the most successful seasons in school history.
Reich, Grierson and Moses were all named First Team All-Great Lakes Region, while Nienaber was named Second Team All-Great Lakes Region.
Each athlete earned All-Great Lakes Region honors for the first time in their careers.
The group of four All-Great Lakes Region honorees were also honored by the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association as they each were tabbed as First Team All-Ohio selections, making it the second consecutive season that ONU landed four athletes on the First Team All-Ohio team.
The OCSA also dubbed Riech, Niemeyer and Puntel Academic All-Ohio as Reich and Niemeyer earned OCSA First Team Academic All-Ohio and Puntel was named OCSA Second Team Academic All-Ohio.
Reich and Puntel each earned their first career Academic All-Ohio kudos, while Niemeyer earned Academic All-Ohio status for the second time in her career.
While leading a historic defensive effort for ONU, Reich was named a First Team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches, becoming the first women's soccer player in school history to earn First Team All-America honors. She also got the job done in the classroom as the senior defender was named First Team Scholar All-North/Central Region by the United Soccer Coaches and was then named a First Team Scholar All-American by the United Soccer Coaches for the Polar Bears.
After dropping its season opener 4-0 at Albion (Mich.), Northern flipped the script and defeated Adrian (Mich.) 2-1 in overtime on the road.
From there, Northern would record seven straight shutouts, tying a school record from 1991 for most consecutive shutouts.
The Polar Bear defense would continue to show its strength as it only allowed two goals over the course of the next six games, where they posted a perfect 6-0-0 record.
After wrapping up the regular season with victories over Muskingum, Baldwin Wallace and Marietta by a combined score of 20-3 and completing its first undefeated regular season in the OAC since the 2011 campaign, Northern earned a first round bye in the OAC Tournament.
A defensive showdown and a complete performance from Grierson in the goal helped lift the Polar Bears to the OAC Tournament finals, advancing passed Otterbein in the OAC Tournament semifinals in PK's.
The Polar Bears would capture the OAC Tournament title for the first time since 2012, and became the first team in school history to win both the OAC regular season title and OAC Tournament title in the same season.
After earning the OAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, Northern hosted the first two rounds of the 2017 NCAA III Tournament, where they defeated Penn. St-Behrend 2-0 in the first round of the tournament and then knocked off No. 20-ranked Illinois Wesleyan 2-0 in the second round of the tournament at Kerscher Stadium.
From there, Northern would travel to No. 2-ranked William Smith (N.Y.) in Geneva, N.Y. to take on the Herons where Fuller would score a game-winner less than 30 seconds into the overtime period after regulation ended in a 0-0 tie and pushed the Polar Bears to their first Elite 8 appearance in school history.
The Polar Bears would take on then undefeated Hardin-Simmons (Tex.) in the Elite 8 round of the tournament, where they would bow out of the tournament after dropping a 1-0 decision.
The Northern defense tied the school record for most consecutive shutouts in a season (7) and broke the school record for shutouts in a season (16).
Grierson is now tied for fourth all-time at Ohio Northern with 20 career shutouts and for the second consecutive season, broke the school record for GAA for her class.
Fuller's team-leading 12 goals this season is tied for the third best freshman mark in school history and her 12 assists broke the freshman school record of 11 set in 1997.
The duo of Fuller and Nienaber became the first pair of ONU teammates to score double digit goals in the same season since the 2011 season.
"This past season was such a growing season for the team," said head coach Mark Batman. "I loved how the team responded after the first game of the year. After falling short in our season opener the whole group decided, we aren't failing again. They did exactly that. They grew as players and improved their relationships off the field and really responded. They were a little disappointed with the way the season ended but this was such a great step for the future of this program."