Ohio Northern University

Ohio Northern University Athletics
525 S. Main St. Ada, OH 45810

Division 3 Ohio Midwest

Private Small Developing team

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Coaches

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Chris Matejka

Chris Matejka is entering his fifth season as the head men's soccer coach at Ohio Northern in 2023.

He was named head coach of the Ohio Northern men's soccer team in December of 2019 after serving as the interim head coach for the 2019 season. He spent the previous six seasons as an assistant coach for his alma mater.

In his four seasons at the helm, ONU is 43-21-12, a winning percentage of .618.

As the interim head coach in 2019, he guided the Polar Bears to a 13-6-3 record and No. 19 ranking en route to advancing to the NCAA Tournament as an at-large selection. During the regular season, ONU shut out opponents in five straight games and enjoyed a 10-game win streak.

Matejka was named Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2022.

In 2022, the Polar Bears put together a 15-game unbeaten streak and won the OAC Regular Season championship en route to earning an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament, where they advanced to the third round. The team was ranked as high as No. 11 nationally in the United Soccer Coaches Poll during the season.

In four seasons at ONU, his student-athletes have earned 24 All-OAC accolades, including eight First Team honors and multiple OAC Midfielder of the Year and OAC Goalkeeper of the Year awards, and five United Soccer Coaches All-Region recognitions.

Matejka's student-athletes have also been recognized for their academic efforts, earning 43 Academic All-OAC honors, seven College Sports Communicators Academic All-District accolades and one CSC Academic All-American and United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-American award.

Matejka is a 2013 graduate of ONU. He was a four-year varsity letter winner for the program and a captain as a senior.

During his ONU soccer career as a player, Matejka won four Ohio Athletic Conference Championships and made four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances. As a senior, he was named D3Soccer.com All-American and OAC Midfielder of the Year.

He played in 96 games with 74 career starts and scored 19 goals, dished out 24 assists and tallied 62 career points.

Matejka earned his Creative Writing degree from ONU in 2013. He's a native of Chatham, Ohio, where he attended Cloverleaf High school.

Chris and his wife, Aly, have three children, Lillian, Marek and Luka.

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Seth Owings

Seth Owings is in his fourth season an assistant men's soccer coach at Ohio Northern in 2023.

Owings graduated from Heidelberg in 2017 with a bachelor's degree in history and political science and graduated with a master's degree in sports administration with an emphasis in coaching and leadership in 2020.

As a sophomore in 2014, Owings was part of the first-ever Heidelberg men’s soccer team to win the OAC Tournament and earn a berth in the NCAA Division III Championships.

After a career-ending injury prior to his junior season, Owings began coaching as a student assistant with the Student Princes through his graduation.

In 2017, he helped guide Heidelberg to a new-high mark with a No. 8 ranking in the NCAA Division III Poll while making the OAC Tournament both years he was on staff.

After his time at Heidelberg, Owings was part of the NCAA Division II Upper Iowa men’s soccer team as a graduate assistant. While there, he was the goalkeeper coach, associate recruiting coordinator and reserve team coach. During the 2018 season, his goalkeepers were sixth in the nation in saves, and in 2020, they were second in the nation in saves.

Originally from Marion, Ohio, Owings holds a Goalkeeper 2 license from United Soccer Coaches and USSF F license.

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Damon Spaeth

Damon Spaeth is entering his first season as an assistant men’s soccer coach at Ohio Northern in 2023.

Spaeth serves as a varsity assistant coach and the reserve team head coach for the Polar Bears.

Spaeth came to ONU after finishing his graduate assistant coaching position at Muskingum University in May 2023.

Prior to serving as a graduate assistant coach at Muskingum, Spaeth was a four-year varsity student-athlete on the MU men’s soccer team as a goalkeeper.

Spaeth graduated from Muskingum in May 2023 with a master’s degree in adult education.