First Weekend of the NCAA Tournament - ONU Men's Soccer

    Last weekend, the ONU Men's Soccer Team competed in the 1st and 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament. The last time ONU had gotten into the tournament was 2019 and the last time they had won a game in the tournament was 2012. With it being some years since the team had been in the tournament and even longer since a win in it, the event made for a very exciting time for everyone. The first two rounds were also hosted at ONU, which added to everyone's excitement for the whole thing. The program being able to host helped with an incredible atmosphere because the fan turnout was so great.

    The 1st round game came on Saturday against an unfamiliar opponent, Mount Aloysius. They are a team from Pennsylvania who got into the tournament from winning their conference tournament. The meaning and atmosphere of this game was heightened from the rough weather conditions and the fan attendance. From the start of the game, there was snow falling and there was lots of cheering for the ONU team. This showed in the performance of the Polar Bears, they were energetic and lively from the start. The energy created many chances for ONU, but they weren't able to get a goal until after the halftime break. Once the goal did come in the 58th minute the pressure they were putting on Mount Aloysius didn't stop there. However, the pressure never amounted to anything and one goal proved not to be enough. Aloysius ended up tying the score late in the game and ultimately sent the game to overtime and penalty kicks. ONU ended up coming out the winner after the penalty kicks and earned their ticket to the 2nd round of the NCAA Tournament.

    Although it did not happen in the ideal way of regulation time, the team was very happy about this win. They hoped to carry their momentum over when they played in less than 24 hours against North Park.

Go Bears!!