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2010-02-09

2010-01-19

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Monday, November 16, 2009 8:53 PM

Photo courtesy of Sarah Blecha

Ottawa University sophomore receiver Clarence Anderson makes one of his eight receptions for 190 yards Saturday against Friends. Anderson was selected the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference offensive player of the week. Senior linebacker Ross Diehl was the defensive player of the week. He had eight tackles and returned a fumble for a touchdown.

OU football, soccer teams to test home field advantage

Unique situation

By Greg Mast/Herald Sports Editor

Being a host of one NAIA national event is a big deal. For Ottawa University, that will be times two this Saturday.

The NAIA made Ottawa the host site for first-round playoff football game and a women’s soccer match.

Ottawa Athletic Director Arabie Conner said it is neat for the NAIA to trust them to put on two events.

It is the first time in both sports that Ottawa has been the home team in a playoff game or match. Ottawa is the only NAIA school to be a host of two national tournament events.

“It is a lot of coordinating,” Conner said. “It is a fun time. The campus will be hopping and buzzing all week.”

Monday was a busy day for the athletic administration, figuring out starting times and other game management details.

The women’s soccer match will start at 11 a.m. followed by the football game at 4 p.m. Both will be played at Peoples Bank Field

The Ottawa women’s soccer team plays Trinity Christian (Ill,) while the football team hooks up with Hastings, Neb.

“It is a whole different thing,” Conner said about hosting an NAIA-sanctioned event. “They have a manual. They want the same experience at all the sites. We have the facilities to host events like this.”

Advance tickets are available for both. The soccer tickets are $8. The football tickets have two levels: the black level is $15 and gold level $10.

Tickets purchased in advance can be picked up Saturday in the Wilson Field House lobby. Soccer tickets will be available at 9:30 a.m. and football at 1 p.m.

To purchase advance tickets, go to www.ottawa.edu/naiaplayoffs

Rebirth of Programs

Both programs were down in 2006. The women’s soccer team won five matches, while the Braves football team won just one game.

Cook Field, then home of the football team, was renovated that season and Ottawa played all of its home games at Ottawa High School.

The next year saw a resurgence that has continued into 2009 where both teams were Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference champions. Both went undefeated in KCAC play.

Both moved into their new home — the artificial turf field of Peoples Bank Field — in 2007.

Conner said the addition of the new field with lights, plus giving the women’s program its own coach contributed to their success.

The women’s soccer team improved to 8-10-2 in 2007, while the football team went 4-6.

Both teams had a big breakthroughs in 2008, just missing qualifying for NAIA postseason berths.

The football team went 8-2, falling in the final game of the season to Sterling.

That loss kept Ottawa out of the playoffs.

The Lady Braves fell 2-1 to Kansas Wesleyan in the KCAC tournament championship match. The soccer team finished 14-5-1.

Conner said the visibility of both sports playing under the lights helped in recruiting.

“We are seeing the benefits of that,” Conner said.

The Braves football team was expected to compete for a playoff spot and a possible high ranking. Ottawa finished fifth in the final regular-season poll.

The women’s soccer team played in the shadows, but kept pace with a younger team.

“This will be [soccer’s] first taste of what national competition is like,” Conner said.

Sixth-year football coach Kent Kessinger said sharing the spotlight with the soccer program is part of small college life.

“I think it is great for OU,” Kessinger said. “Craig [Shaw] has been building that program for the past couple of years. We have the ability to work well together. It is a far cry from 2006.”

Redemption for Braves

This has been a season of redemption for the Ottawa football team. First on the list was a chance to defeat Sterling. Ottawa rallied in the fourth quarter for a 23-21 win.

Ottawa then had to continue to win to set up a showdown with Friends this past Saturday. The Falcons nipped Ottawa, 46-45, on a late touchdown and a two-point conversion last year.

The Braves came out on fire Saturday in rolling to a 42-0 lead early in the second quarter. Friends rallied in the second half, but Ottawa held on for a 49-42 win.

Now the attention turns to the playoffs. Ottawa is 0-3 in playoff games, but is undefeated the past two years at home.

“We play very well at home,” Kessinger said. “It started a couple of years ago at homecoming. Fans were all over the place. It is an exciting game experience.”

The coach hopes that advantage spills over into the postseason.

“We don’t have to worry about travel,” he said. “We get to sleep in our own beds.”

Willing to Sacrifice

Shaw knew his women’s soccer team could be a conference championship team midway through this season.

He said during one practice the players ran for about 90 minutes.

“No one complained,” Shaw said. “They said ‘this is what we need.”

It did not hurt that Ottawa had talent. Shaw said the players sold the program to prospective recruits.

“They did a good job of selling the school,” Shaw said. “They are committed to Ottawa University.”

The players were committed to each other.

“We have good team chemistry,” Shaw said.

The soccer team also had a score to settle.

Ottawa got a rematch Saturday with Kansas Wesleyan and responded with a 3-2 victory.

“They gave us a really good game,” Shaw said.

All five goals were scored in the first half.

“They defended like crazy,” Shaw said of the defense in the second half. “We had to keep a clean sheet.”

Ottawa’s defense has been solid all season, giving up just one goal in KCAC matches.

Shaw said the Lady Braves have been disciplined all season in the back, despite changing players throughout the season because of injuries.

The coach said this week will be fun, but another work week.

“We deserve to be there,” Shaw said. “We have to worry about ourselves.”

Greg Mast can be reached at sports@ottawaherald.com