By Tim Glon

ALLIANCE — The Ohio Northern men's soccer team withstood a furious rally, playing a man down the final 7:42, and held on for a 1-0 victory at Mount Union on Saturday night at Mount Union Stadium in the Ohio Athletic Conference opener for both teams.

The Polar Bears (8-2-1 overall, 1-0-0 Ohio Athletic Conference) got the match's only goal when junior Joseph Schulte (Copley) scored from outside the 18-yard box just 9:40 into the contest.

The Purple Raiders (4-5-0, 0-1-0) controlled play for the final 20 minutes, out-shooting ONU 6-0 after Northern led the shots battle 10-7 in the first 70 minutes.

"This was a good start in the OAC for us, a good road win against a solid team," ONU head coach Brent Ridenour said. "We knew this would be a battle of restarts and throw-ins and we prepared for that. Fortunately we were able to score off of one and defend all of theirs. I was happy with the way we maintained our composure on defense and withstood Mount's pressure the final 20 minutes."

Freshman Dylan Plank (Lancaster, Pa./Manheim) was outstanding in goal for Ohio Northern, registering six saves on seven MtU shots before exiting the game late after picking up his second yellow card.

The Polar Bears played the final 7:42 a man down after Plank received his second yellow card of the match.

Mount Union had several opportunities late, including a corner kick with six seconds left, but ONU held firm and came away with their third consecutive 1-0 victory over the Purple Raiders.

The Polar Bears will return to action on Tuesday with a 7 pm contest at Otterbein.