ONU Men's Soccer Dancing into the Sweet 16!

    The Polar Bears have the pedal to the metal at the moment. This past weekend was a real test for the team as they faced off against Lynchburg University and Messiah University. The Polar Bears were able to come out on top in both games with one game going to penalty kicks, and one game ending in regulation. ONU was the underdog of this first round draw. We were not expected to be able to defy the odds and take down two of the best teams. However, the belief in the boys to make it through defied every obstacle. It is normal for a team of our caliber to be intimidated by Lynchburg and Messiah. However, we were able to show them what playing for each other looked like. The boys held strong and their belief grew stronger after every minute played. After the final whistle blew, there was pandemonium around the field. It was such a rewarding feeling knowing that we all believed and kept working to ultimately accomplish our goal of making it to the Sweet 16. Although it was a great feeling in the moment, we knew the work was not finished. 

    The Polar Bears have been preparing this week for their Sweet 16 match-up against Colorado College. When we saw who our opponent was after we defeated Messiah, we knew what we were up against since we have played them before earlier in the season. The previous game this season ended as a 1-1 draw between us and Colorado College. However, we knew we were the better team and should have had a go ahead goal in the second half. Given that we play them again, we know their team playstyle and who their go-to players are on the field. It is common knowledge it is more difficult to play a team twice and beat them. However, given our previous results this past weekend, we know that we can take on any team in the tournament. On the other side of our bracket are the hosts, Tufts University and Washington and Lee. Both of these teams are powerhouses of their conferences and they both have had some strong results all throughout the season. Although we seek to make it to the Final 4, we have to take it one game at a time. Which means beating Colorado College to advance to the Elite 8 of the tournament. We have been watching film on Colorado College all week in preparation for what we are planning to do when the first whistle blows. 

    Overall, the boys have all of the momentum heading into these competitions this weekend and we seek to make it Roanoke, Virginia for the Final 4 in December. Although these are very exciting aspirations, we have to take it one day and one game at a time to put ourselves in the right mindset to get the best results. 

The boys leave Thursday, 11/16 for their trip to Boston, MA to face-off against Colorado College at 1:30pm on Saturday. 

Go Bears!  



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