ONU Men's Soccer Headed to Lynchburg!

    It's time for the post-season. The Polar Bears are headed into the NCAA tournament after defeating Otterbein in the OAC tournament to earn an automatic bid. The team is flowing with confidence heading into the first round as they try to continue to keep their winning streak alive. The Polar Bears are playing some of their best soccer at the moment and the team is flowing with confidence all over the field. The selection show for the tournament took place on Monday where we would finally find who we played against for the first round. The team all gathered in the locker room where the selection show was being streamed. Everybody was energetic and anxious to see our school show up on the bracket. We waited for about 20 minutes before we saw our name and the team we were playing against. We saw our opponent and instantly knew it was going to be a tough match-up. The Hornets of Lynchburg University located in Lynchburg, Virginia are the hosts and our first round match-up. The other match-up in our bracket included Messiah University located in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and Baruch College located in New York City. After the selection show, the boys instantly got to work on the training ground to prepare for Lynchburg.

    Lynchburg has been a powerhouse all season. With an overall record of 15-3-2, the Hornets dominated their conference with minimal flaws. They are a very strong team that is loaded with 5th year seniors and upperclassmen with high levels of experience playing collegiate soccer. Although they may have the experience, the Polar Bears have the team chemistry to take down any team in their way. The boys are in high spirits headed into this game considering there are many players that are playing very well and are willing to play for the ONU crest on the jersey for all 90 minutes. The Polar Bears have had a great week of training this week in preparation and we will continue to prepare by watching film and understand their playstyles so we are not caught by surprise when the first whistle blows. Lynchburg has a reputation of being a very physical team that likes to push around players and force the other team to make mistakes. With that being said, we will have to match their physicality on the field and capitalize on our chances to take control of the game. We are a very composed team that likes to keep possession of the ball and weave our way through to find very intricate passes and shots on goal. Knowing that Lynchburg is the hosting team for the first and second round, we are aware that Lynchburg will have a very substantial home field advantage. However, that doesn't bother the Polar Bears. If anything, it gives us more motivation to end their season on their home turf. We must believe. 

    The boys travel to Lynchburg to play their first round match-up on Saturday 11/11 at 3:30pm. There will be a live stream for anybody to watch at home to support your fellow Polar Bears!

Go Bears!