For the second straight season and only third time in program history, the Owens men's soccer team won the OCCAC championship. The Express wrapped up the regular season with a 5-1 mark in conference play, easily outdistancing the rest of the pack, while going 9-5 overall.

Owens outscored conference opponents 12-4. The one blemish on the Express conference schedule was 2-1 loss to Cuyahoga Community College in September, a loss they avenged with a 1-0 win last week.

This is the second season back for Owens men's soccer. Since their return, the Express have gone 18-11-2 overall and 9-2-1 in conference action, outscoring OCCAC foes 30-12. They went 4-1-1 in OCCAC play last year to tie with Cuyahoga.

"To bring this program back from an eight-year shutdown and win back-to-back conference championships is a testament to the character, discipline, consistency and performance of our group," Express coach Nate Baer said. "To us its less about the titles but the hard-earned belief, perseverance, and teamwork that helped us rebuild something meaningful from the ground up.

"Our sophomore class has been the foundation of our culture and identity. Their leadership, buy-in and daily standards have set the tone to help us earn early success."

The first conference title for Owens came in 2012. The Express also finished 5-1 that season, tied with Cincinnati State atop of the standings. Owens finished that season in the Region XII semifinals.

The Express have been led offensively this season by a pair of freshmen. Diakaria Sy (Colerain/Colerain H.S.) leads the team with eight goals and 19 points, and Jayden Kuhlman (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf H.S.) had seven goals and 18 points.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kyan Martin (Sylvania/Southview H.S.) leads the Owens defense with 45 saves in 12 games and a .750 save percentage. The Express have five shutouts while yielding an average of 1.79 goals per game.

The Express will be back in action when they host Terra State in a Region XII tournament game at 2 p.m. Tuesday. Owens has won both matchups this season by a combined 6-0 score.

For more information on the Owens men's soccer team, please visit owensexpress.com.