By Caleb Scott
The Ohio Northern women's soccer team saw nine members earn Academic All-OAC honors for the 2016 campaign.
Seniors Shelby Stephens (Cypress, Tex./Cypress Woods), Haley Napier (Beavercreek/Beavercreek), Rachel Weigman (Pickerington/North), Missy Ward (Columbus/Westerville North), and Ellie Schmalzl (Walton, Ky./Ryle), juniors Anna Niemeyer (Loveland/Loveland) and Brianna Gr uber (Middleburg Heights/Holy Name) and sophomores Sarah Puntel (Strongsville/Strongsville) and McKenna Welsh (Westerville/Bishop Hartley) all earned the honor for Northern.
Stephens, a Marketing major from Cypress, Tex., was named Academic All-OAC for the third time in her career. Stephens, a 3-time First Team All-OAC honoree ranked first on the team and fifth in the OAC with nine goals. The senior also ranked first on the team and tied for fourth in the conference with 24 points and finished her career tied for seventh all-time at ONU with 21 career assists.
Napier, a Criminal Justice/Pre-law major from Beavercreek, was named Academic All-OAC for the first time in her career. The senior was named Honorable Mention All-OAC after appearing in and making starts in all 19 games for the Polar Bears this season as a defender.
Weigman, a Pharmacy major from Pickerington, earned her third honor. Weigman, who appeared in and started in 13 games for Northern in 2015, was sidelined for the 2016 season due to an injury.
Ward, a Pharmacy major from Westerville, earned the honor for the third time in her career.
The First Team All-OAC selection was tied for third on the team with five goals and had a team-best .654 shots on goal percentage among those with 10 or more shots on goal.
Schmalzl, an Accounting major from Walton, Ky., earned her third career Academic All-OAC honor. Ellie appeared in five games for Northern in 2016, scoring one goal.
Niemeyer, a Marketing major from Loveland, was named Academic All-OAC for the second time as a Polar Bear. Niemeyer was named Second Team All-OAC as a forward and was tied for fifth on the team with four goals, and made appearances in all 19 contests for the Polar Bears.
Gruber, an Athletic Training major from Middleburg Heights, earned the honor for the first time in her career. The junior made appearances in 15 contests for Northern as a forward.
Puntel, a Management/Risk Management Insurance major from Strongsville, earned her first career Academic All-OAC honor. Puntel started all 19 games for the Polar Bears in 2016 and scored goals and added two assists.
Welsh, an Exercise Physiology major from Columbus, earned the honor for the first time in her career. An injury early in the season sidelined the sophomore for the entire 2016 season.
The Polar Bears finished the season as OAC Regular Season Champions and finished as runners up in the OAC Tournament Championship under 13th-year head coach Mark Batman.
