Tourney Time!

The time has finally come after a long and battle-tested season—NCAA tournament time! After a rollercoaster season filled with ups and downs, we are confident heading into the playoffs. Although we did not receive an automatic qualifier in the tournament after losing in the OAC semifinals, we knew our season wasn’t over. Throughout the season, we have remained ranked in the NCAA's top 25, which kept our hopes high for earning an at-large bid, despite falling short of our goal to win the OAC. This marks our third consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, and we believe this is our year.

While we felt confident, our chances of making the tournament were not guaranteed. We found ourselves rooting for teams ranked above us—hoping they would lose in their conference playoffs, which would improve our chances of an at-large bid. For many of our seniors, the loss against Otterbein felt like it could be our last game, as nothing was certain. I made sure to reassure my teammates that we would still make it, encouraging them to stay hopeful.

This past weekend brought several upsets, which added stress to the team as we anxiously followed the rankings. The rankings update daily, and when we woke up Monday, we were relieved to see we were still in the top 25. The selection show took place later that afternoon, and being ranked #19 gave us hope that our season was not over. We gathered in the locker room for a watch party, eagerly awaiting our name on the bracket. It was a stressful experience not knowing who we would play or where the game would be.

In past years, we’ve either hosted or traveled long distances for games. My freshman year, we hosted the first two rounds and then traveled to Kenyon for the following rounds. My sophomore year, we played our first games in Virginia and then flew to Boston for the next rounds. This year, we were excited to finally see our name on the bracket. We will be playing Franciscan University at a neutral site, Denison University.

At first, I didn’t know much about Franciscan, but after hearing our coach talk about them, I understood why this game was personal for him. Our coach is an ONU soccer alum, having played here from 2008-2012. He was part of the 2012 team that made it to the NCAA finals, the furthest any ONU team has ever gone. The reason this game is so personal for him is because the coach at Franciscan was his former coach at ONU.

This game is shaping up to be an exciting matchup, with plenty of storylines and bragging rights on the line. Our coach has received messages from countless alumni, telling him that we must win by several goals. We are focused on continuing our season and bringing the team’s first national championship in soccer to ONU. We are also incredibly grateful to be one of 64 teams still practicing this week. Pressure is a privilege, and we are determined to embrace it as we take it game by game, step by step, toward the national championship in Las Vegas.