Ohio Northern Claims OAC Men's Soccer Tournament Championship

11/8/2026 2:55:52 PM

Ohio Northern Claims OAC Men's Soccer Tournament Championship

No. 2 Polar Bears top No. 4 Baldwin Wallace, 5-1, for program's ninth tournament title

Game Recap

Second-seeded Ohio Northern won the 2026 Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament with a 5–1 victory over fourth-seeded Baldwin Wallace on Sunday afternoon at Kerscher Stadium in Ada. It's the Polar Bears' ninth OAC Tournament title and their first since 2023, and it sends them to the NCAA Division III Championship with the league's automatic bid.

How It Happened

Ohio Northern took control early, scoring three times before halftime. Sophomore Miles Armstrong opened the scoring at 20:22, finishing a chance set up by Sterling Segal and Zach Oborne. Sophomore Ignacio Ciotta doubled the lead with a penalty kick at 37:18, then set up junior Johnny Roussakis with five seconds left in the half to make it 3–0. The Polar Bears outshot the Yellow Jackets 11–2 in the opening 45 minutes.

Baldwin Wallace answered early in the second half. Dominic Massaro converted a Robbie Rochford assist at 49:31 to cut the deficit to 3–1.

Ohio Northern restored its three-goal cushion at 64:26, when Cooper Freeman finished a feed from senior Wil Baker. Vinnie Chaput capped the scoring with an unassisted goal at 84:17. ONU finished with a 16–9 edge in shots, 7–3 on goal, and a 2–1 advantage in corner kicks. Luca Chiappetta made two saves in goal to earn the win.

Top Performers

Ohio Northern
  • Ignacio Ciotta – 1 goal (PK), 1 assist
  • Miles Armstrong – 1 goal, team-high 3 shots
  • Luca Chiappetta – 2 saves, win in goal
Baldwin Wallace
  • Dominic Massaro – 1 goal
  • Robbie Rochford – 1 assist
  • Diego Teran – 2 saves

Noteworthy

  • Ohio Northern won its ninth OAC Tournament title. The others came in 2006, 2008, 2010–13, 2015 and 2023.
  • The Polar Bears won the double: they also shared the 2026 OAC regular-season title with Mount Union after going 6–0–2 in league play. It's their second straight regular-season crown and 11th overall.
  • ONU improves to 13–4–5 overall. As the No. 2 seed, the Polar Bears had a first-round bye, then beat No. 3 Otterbein 1–0 in Thursday's semifinal on a second-half goal from Armstrong.
  • Five different Polar Bears scored in the final, and Ciotta figured in two of the goals.
  • The win makes up for last season's final, when top-seeded ONU lost to Otterbein on penalty kicks at Kerscher Stadium.
  • Ohio Northern swept the season series with Baldwin Wallace. The Polar Bears won the regular-season meeting 1–0 in Ada on Oct. 10.
  • Eighth-year head coach Chris Matejka has now won two OAC Tournament titles with the Polar Bears (2023, 2026).
  • Baldwin Wallace (11–6–5) reached the OAC Tournament final for the first time in school history. The Yellow Jackets beat No. 5 Marietta 5–4 on penalty kicks in the quarterfinals, with OAC Goalkeeper of the Year Diego Teran converting the deciding kick. They then won 1–0 at top-seeded Mount Union in the semifinals on a Braden Lamb goal assisted by Nathan Gray.
  • The NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship selection show airs Monday, Nov. 9, at 11 a.m. ET on NCAA.com.