Seven Polar Bears score as Men's Soccer blanks Defiance 9-0

Geoff Smith

By Patrick Massara

| Box Score |

ADA — Senior Geoff Smith and freshman Christian Huelsman each recorded five points as the Ohio Northern men’s soccer team defeated Defiance 9-0 Tuesday afternoon at the ONU Soccer Field.

The Polar Bears move to 9-2 on the year, while the Yellow Jackets fall to 0-9.

Smith and Huelsman each had two goals and an assist to account for their 5-point performances.

ONU wasted little time in gaining the upper hand in the game as sophomore Chaz McCullah passed to freshman Nate Bascom who then ripped a shot in traffic to give ONU a 1-0 lead 2:59 into the match.

The goal is Bascom’s fifth on the year while the assist is McCullah’s third.

Four minutes later, Huelsman took a corner kick in which the ball went directly into the net at the 6:44 mark.

Off of a Yellow Jacket foul, junior Dan Shade sent a ball upfield to Smith who then beat the goalie near side from eight yards away to put ONU up 3-0 30:58 into the match. The assist was Shade’s first of the season.

Smith earned his assist by feeding the ball to fellow senior Adam Ross who beat the goalie near post from point-blank range at 37:31. The goal is Ross’ third of the season while the assist is Smith’s second.

Coming out of the half, Huelsman scored his second goal of the game as he headed in a loose ball from 5 yards out at the 46:22 mark. The two goals on the day give Huelsman a team-high nine on the season.

Huelsman then proceded to assist junior Jimmy Matuszak at 54:37 to increase the Polar Bear’s lead to 6-0. The goal is Matuszak’s second on the year while the assist gives Huelsman two this season.

Freshman Greg Stawicki scored his second goal this season as he scored off of a rebound from Ross at the 60:12 mark.

Smith scored his second goal of the game soon after to put ONU up 8-0 as he received a long through ball from freshman Cory Dobkins. Smith then beat the defender and scored from 10 yards away at 61:42. The two goals give Smith four on the season and the assist is Dobkin’s second.

The final goal of the afternoon came at 77:56 when Ross crossed the ball to sophomore Jeff Kucera who then proceded to head the ball into the net for his first goal of the year. Ross now has a team-high five assists on the season.

Junior goalkeeper Aaron Collins had one save in the game as he recorded his sixth shutout on the year.

“Saturday is the beginning of our conference schedule,” said Coach Ridenour. “We need to be sharp for that game and today was a good tune-up for our team prior to that match.”

The Polar Bears being their Ohio Athletic Conference part of the schedule Saturday as they host Muskingum at 2 pm.