Ohio Northern University's women's soccer team came to an end on Friday. Here's the ONU sports round up for the week just ended.
Women’s soccer
The 17th-ranked Ohio Northern women's soccer team's memorable 2019 season came to an end Friday. The Polar Bears fell to No. 25 Carnegie Mellon (Pa.) 3-0 in the third round of the NCAA Tournament at Joe Bean Stadium on the campus of Wheaton College.
ONU fell down 2-0 in the opening half, but created more scoring opportunities in the final 45 minutes. The Polar Bears registered six of their seven shots, one of which was on target, and all three corner kicks after halftime.
Junior Jenna Fuller (Countryside, Ill./Lyons Township) recorded a team-high four shots for Northern. Senior Haley Moses (Mason), sophomore Emma Barney (Oak Harbor) and freshman Lauren Naso (Grosse Ile, Mich.) had the other three shots.
Senior goaltender Meagan Grierson (Dayton/Miamisburg) ended her historic career with six saves Friday. That gave her 205 for her career, which ranks sixth in school history.
The Tartans logged 15 shots in the game, nine of which were on frame.
Rachel Legg boasted the first goal for Carnegie Mellon. She scored, unassisted, in 24th minute.
Julianne Tippett had the second goal. She found the back of the net on a header, off a feed from Tara Durstewitz, in the 41st minute.
Durstewitz closed the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 62nd minute.
Andrea Sipos played 73 minutes in net for the Tartans, while Carolyn Botz played the final 17 minutes, making one save.
The Tartans will advance to the NCAA Quarterfinals Saturday. They'll meet St. Thomas (Minn.), which toppled host Wheaton (Ill.) 4-2 in a penalty shootout.
ONU will return to Ada with many high marks for the season that was. The 2019 campaign represented the second time the program has advanced past the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
This seasons also marked the second time that the Polar Bears won both the regular-season Ohio Athletic Conference title and tournament crown. Northern went a perfect 11-0 in OAC matches.
Grierson's 12 shut outs in 2019 gave her 44 for her career, which is tops in program history. Fuller's 20 goals this season represented the most goals a Polar Bear has netted in a single seasons since 1997. Both Moses and senior Rose Nienaber (Cincinnati/Oak Hills) vaulted into the top 10 in school history with 21 and 20 career assists, respectively.
Northern finished the season at 18-3-3, having won 14 in a row at one point. They also held a 15-game unbeaten streak, which tied a school record.
Men’s basketball
The Ohio Northern men's basketball team gave a valiant effort, but fell at NCAA Division I foe Purdue Fort Wayne 74-43 Sunday afternoon at the Gates Athletic Center.
Freshman C.J. Napier (Miamisburg/Bishop Fenwick) nearly has his first career double-double with 11 points and nine rebounds, while fellow freshman Landen Long (Mason) added 12 points and seven rebounds to lead the Polar Bears (2-2 overall).
Ohio Northern got off to a great start, leading 11-7 with 5:05 gone in the contest. Back-to-back 3s from Long, a 3 by sophomore Brandon Waugh (Columbus/Northland) and a basket from Napier contributed to ONU's early success.
The Mastadons (3-5) answered with a 12-0 run over the next 4:18 to go up 19-11 with 10:37 left in the half.
Northern was within 21-16 at the 7:31 mark of the first half when PFW went on a 12-2 run to grab a 33-18 advantage with 4:21 left in the period.
The lead was 43-26 just after the half when two free throws by Long and a layup by Napier got ONU within 43-30 with 18:18 to go.
But Purdue Fort Wayne's length and athleticism on defense would take its toll on Ohio Northern's offense, as the hosts would outscore the Polar Bears 38-17 the rest of the way.
Ohio Northern to struggle to get clean looks at the basket, as the Polar Bears made just 17-of-56 field goals for 30.4 percent. Northern was just 5-of-25 from 3-point range for 20 percent.
Fort Wayne made 31-of-61 field-goal attempts for 50.8 percent and was 8-of-25 from 3-point range for 32 percent.
The rebounding battle was pretty even, as PFW claimed a 37-34 advantage.
Northern enjoyed a 10-8 advantage in offensive rebounds and a 9-6 edge in second-chance points, while the Mastadons won the points in the paint battle 40-14.
The Polar Bears will return to action Dec. 7, as they open the Ohio Athletic Conference portion of their schedule with a 2 p.m. game at Mount Union.
Wrestling
The Ohio Northern wrestling team went 3-1 at the Olivet (Mich.) Duals on Saturday at the Cutler Center.
The Polar Bears (6-3 overall) ended the day with a 22-16 victory over No. 12 Alma (Mich.)
ONU began the day by defeating Henry Ford (Mich.) 42-4 and Saint Claire CC 41-11 before falling to Olivet (Mich.) 28-13.
Senior Seth Transue (Plain City/Jerome) and junior Cash Thompson (Lake Odessa, Mich./Lakewood) each went 4-0 on the day to lead Ohio Northern.
Transue posted three major decisions at 133 and Thompson had three pins and a major decision at 197, including the clinching win in the dual with Alma.
Senior Jeff Andrews (New Baltimore, Mich./Anchor Bay) went 3-1 with two tech falls at 141 and junior Schuyler Caprella (Harrod/Allen East) was 3-1 with two pins and a tech fall at 157 for Ohio Northern.
The Polar Bears will return to action on Tuesday when they travel to No. 15 Otterbein for an Ohio Athletic Conference dual at 7 pm.
Women’s basketball
The Ohio Northern women's basketball team used a big fourth quarter to topple Wisconsin-Oshkosh 62-56 Saturday to conclude play at the Wisconsin Lutheran Tournament. The victory improved the Polar Bears to 3-0 on the season, while the loss dropped the Titans to 2-2.
Northern trailed 43-40 heading into the game's final quarter. Wisconsin-Oshkosh extended its lead to 56-50 with just 2:40 left, but from then on out, it was all Polar Bears.
Sophomore Jaidyn Hale (Lima/Bath) got the run started with a 3-pointer at the 2:11 mark. Senior Emily Mescher(Maria Stein/Marion Local) converted a layup on the very next possession, which pulled Northern to within one at 56-55.
Sophomore Lexi Jacobs (Wapakoneta) put ONU ahead on a jumper with 47 seconds to play. The Polar Bears put the game on ice, making six consecutive free throws to finish the game.
Hale led the way for Northern with a team-high 17 points. She came off the bench and was a perfect 5-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line with two assists.
Mescher added 14 points and five rebounds. Jacobs rounded out ONU's double-digit scorers with 12 points.
ONU shot 40.4 percent (19 of 47) from the floor and 36.4 percent (8 of 22) from deep. The Spartans made just 34.6 percent (18 of 52) of their field-goal attempts and 27.3 percent (9 of 33) from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Polar Bears won the battle on the glass, out-rebounding Wisconsin-Oshkosh 35-30.
The Titans jumped out to the early 16-13 advantage at the end of the first frame. Northern locked down defensively — only surrendering seven second-quarter points — to take a 26-23 edge into the halftime locker room. The Polar Bears relinquished their lead in the third period, but that set the stage for an impressive final 10 minutes.
ONU stays on the road and travels to Defiance Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. before playing its first home game Dec. 7 against Mount Union.
Women's basketball
The Ohio Northern women's basketball team improved to 2-0 on the season with a 67-43 victory at Wisconsin Lutheran on Friday night in the Paul Knueppel WLU Classic at the Recreation Complex.
Senior Abby Weeks (West Chester/Mount Notre Dame) scored 15 points, senior Emily Mescher (Maria Stein/Marion Local) added 14 points and sophomore Lexi Jacobs (Wapakoneta) chipped in 13 points to lead the Polar Bears.
The Warriors (0-2 overall) were led by Amanda Brug with 10 points.
The ONU defense was outstanding all night, limiting the hosts to just 18-of-53 shooting for 34 percent and 3-of-27 shooting from 3-point range (11.1 percent).
Northern led 17-8 after one quarter and 36-15 at halftime, holding WLU to 0-for-16 shooting from three.
Ohio Northern made 26-of-54 of its field goal attempts for 48.1 percent and were 5-of-20 from three for 25.0 percent.
The Polar Bears out-rebounded Wisconsin Lutheran 35-26.
Cross country
Sophomore Tessa Pitcovich (Stow/Stow-Munroe Falls) finished 77th out of 280 runners at the 2019 NCAA Division III Women's Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning at Tom Sawyer State Park.
Pitcovich ran a 22:40 in very muddy and sloppy conditions to post the fourth-best NCAA Championships finish in school history.
"Tessa ran a great race," ONU head coach Jason Maus said. "She went out quick and was able to stay among the front all race. With these sloppy conditions, if you fall behind you can't make it up. She was terrific, especially considering it was her first time at the championships and in these tough conditions. Our goal was a top-100 finish and she did that and then some. I am so proud of her."
Pitcovich was in 50th place after one kilometer in 3:36 and was 75th in 11:00.2 after 3k. She stayed at 76th after 4k in 15:06.4 and finished 77th.
"It was an awesome day," Pitcovich said. "I am so happy with how I ran. When we ran this course in the regular season the lead Gator got lost so considering that this is my first time running the actual course it makes it even better."
This marks the 15th consecutive season that Ohio Northern has been represented at the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
