After a three-run first inning, the Falcons batting continued to hammer away before finally defeating the Streaks by a score of 8-2. Joe Veltri carried what little offense the Blue Streaks could muster. With three hits, he extended his hitting streak to five games.

John Carroll had little time to lick their wounds, however, as conference play commenced against an Otterbein Cardinals team that they lost to last weekend. Fortunately for John Carroll, the loss to Notre Dame did not count as a loss in the conference standings.

“We expect to win every game we play. I felt that we are a better team than Otterbein so I was confident that we should sweep them. On the other hand, we have been playing sub-par baseball in the last two weeks so getting the win was important for our confidence,” said Coach Marc Thibeault.

Plans for a sweep were quickly dissolved in the bottom of the third inning when Otterbein, sparked by a two-out rally and scored a pair of runs to extend their tenuous lead to three. For the third time in four games, John Carroll managed only a meager two runs. Additionally,  John Carroll extended their losing streak to four, the longest it has been all season. Half of John Carroll’s six hits came off the metal of freshman catcher Dan Potter who moved his batting average to .317 over the weekend, good for fourth on the squad.

Nevertheless, John Carroll needed a victory in the second game to ensure they wouldn’t slip into an 0-2 hole to start conference competition.

Senior outfielder Chris Larry set the tone in the top of the second inning by knocking in two runs.  After a series of errors and wild pitches, John Carroll would carry a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the second. Otterbein got three runs back in the bottom of the inning but Potter came up with clutch RBI’s in the fourth and sixth to put John Carroll in position to win with six runs. Otterbein battled and tied things up at six in the bottom of the seventh.

The game would remain tranquil until the ninth when Potter once again came up big with a leadoff walk. He would score the eventual game winner on a sacrifice fly from junior Tom Hickey.

“Danny had a good day. He caught all 15 innings we played and he should, he’s a hockey player. He was able to put together some quality at bats especially with two strikes,” said Thibeault.

John Carroll will look to separate themselves from the conference field next weekend when they take on nationally ranked Heidelberg at home, but as of right now the conference is up for grabs.

“We may not have had the start we wanted, but as the conference games begin we will step up to the challenge and compete for the top spot in the league,” said freshman starting pitcher Jimmy Spagna.

This weekend will prove to be a good measuring stick for John Carroll. Heidelberg University is currently ranked No. 6 in the D3 baseball top 25 polls with a 16-4 record and hasn’t lost to John Carroll since 2005.

With five underclassmen starters, the Blue Streaks have less experience than any other team in the conference. Although they lost two games against conference opponents this weekend, it will not count against them in league play.

Two of those young players, freshman starters Bobby Peltz and Jimmy Spagna, pitched strong games in the Muskingum Invitational on Saturday. Peltz, a Dream Team selection from the state of Michigan in 2010, picked up his second win of the season against Montclair State University in the first contest.

Spearheaded by two homers off the bat of senior shortstop Johnny Hastings, the JCU offense knocked starter Paul Ciccazzo out of the game after an atrocious three innings in which he surrendered six earned runs.

Sophomore designated hitter Aaron Miller and senior left fielder Chris Larry also contributed three hits each, while combining to drive in three runs, in the 12-8 shootout victory over the Red Hawks.

The bats fell silent later in the day as JCU managed only five hits against conference foe Muskingum University.

With six innings pitched and only three earned runs, Spagna was credited with a quality start but was also docked with the loss. Nevertheless, improvement by the younger players is not lost on those who have been on the team for a while.

“I think the guys are starting to get comfortable in their roles,” said Larry. “We are on the verge of putting wins together.”

Despite the inclination toward freshmen and sophomores this season, the brunt of offensive productivity comes from the upperclassmen.

Third baseman Brian Benander led the squad with a .406 batting average last season, but went a pedestrian 2-12 over the weekend.

With a .415 career average, junior first baseman Tom Hickey may be the most dangerous hitter on the squad.

Already with an OAC batting title on his collegiate resume, the junior from Chicago remains a staple in the cleanup hole.

Then there is Hastings, a four-year starter with a .315 batting average who had a 17-game hitting streak snapped just a few games ago. All three are tops on the team in batting average so far this season.

But it was sophomore center fielder Joe Veltri who would step up as the primary offensive workhorse for the Blue Streaks against Otterbein University on Sunday as his two hits brought three runners across home plate.

Despite leading 7-2 through five and a half innings behind a strong outing by senior pitcher Tom Schaberl, the Blue Streaks slipped by allowing eight runs in the final five innings.

The Cardinals Scott Staarman ended the game when he hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 10th inning as Veltri and sophomore left fielder Conor Marerro collided on a shallow fly ball that would have prohibited the runner on third base from scoring.

The loss dropped John Carroll to 6-8 overall as they head into conference play.

“Guys are starting to settle in but it doesn’t translate into wins which is frustrating considering we have been in position to win games,” said Hastings. “Now we need to turn the corner and get over the hump. I am confident we can do it.”

They can start doing that Saturday when they head back to Westerville, Ohio to open OAC competition with Otterbein.

In the big scheme of things, Sunday’s loss to the Cardinals doesn’t matter a whole lot as it was scheduled so  the Blue Streaks could have another game. Both games Saturday will matter in the conference standings.

JCU will then host their next five games at Schweickert Field, including a doubleheader on Tuesday with Heidelberg University, last year’s national runner-up and currently ranked second in the nation by D3Baseball.com.

JCU also hosts a doubleheader with Baldwin-Wallace College Friday, April 9 before a single game with Case Western Reserve University on April 12.

Despite the loss of five key starters, the Blue Streaks still believe they can make a run at the top of the conference, a feat that will not be easy considering top-ranked Heidelberg University has shown few signs of weakness in the past few seasons.

In many respects, the trip to Florida was a success for the young Blue Streaks. The squad went 5-3 with losses to two teams: Medaille College and Ohio Wesleyan University.

Freshmen starters Bobby Peltz and Jimmy Spagna notched their first career wins, while seniors Brian Benander and Johnny Hastings teamed with junior Tom Hickey to run roughshod through the opponents with a combined 42 hits.

Despite going 0-3 this past weekend against competitive teams from Thiel College, Maryville College and Piedmont College, JCU’s ultimate goal remains the same.

“We aim to win the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title, host a conference championship and win it, and receive a bid to the NCAA regional,” said manager Marc Thibeault.

Winning the conference would mean John Carroll would have to surpass the nation’s best team: Heidelberg. The ‘Berg is off to their best start in program history with a record of 10-0. Not to be outdone, the Marietta College Pioneers, ranked eighth in the country, will also challenge for first place.

JCU placed third in the conference last season, but lost starters Tim O’Brien, Mike Carbo, Bryan Robinett and John Skomra to graduation. The squad also lost Ryan Pacyga who elected to transfer.

This year, John Carroll’s starting lineup will boast a maximum of four upperclassman at any given time. The litany of younger players makes the challenge that much harder, but the team doesn’t see youth as a detriment.

“[The freshmen] are working hard. We like them and they’re a very talented group. They will be judged by what they learn this year about being a student-athlete and making contributions to the varsity level,” said Thibeault.

The Blue Streaks will run a three-man starting rotation with Peltz and Spagna joining senior Tom Schaberl as the starting pitchers while senior Tony Evanko nurses an injury.

In the outfield, senior Chris Larry will platoon with sophomore Connor Marrero in left field, sophomore Joe Veltri will patrol center and sophomore Ryan Konsler will be in right.

Seniors Hastings and Benander will occupy the left side of the infield at shortstop and third base, respectively.

Hickey will play first base and pair with sophomore Patrick Stone or freshman Mark Huddle at second to form the right side of the infield.

The Blue Streaks are still  searching for a bat to replace Pacyga, who contributed a .388 batting average and a team-high eight home runs as the designated hitter last season.

In eleven games this season, JCU has tried Larry, Stone, Marrero,  and sophomores Pat Fallon and Aaron Miller as designated hitters.

Miller will platoon at catcher with freshman Dan Potter, leaving the designated hitter up for grabs.

After the three losses this weekend, the Blue Streaks dipped below .500 with a record of 5-6.

“We are obviously disappointed with the weekend but realize that there is plenty of season left. We are learning what we need to do to win and compete,” said Hastings.

The Blue Streaks have a non-conference game with Montclair State University at 12 p.m. on Saturday before a chance for revenge against the team that bounced them from last year’s conference playoffs when they face Muskingum University at 4 p.m. on Saturday.

They will also travel to Westerville, Ohio to play Otterbein University on Sunday afternoon before returning home to battle Notre Dame College on Wednesday.

Since the Blue Streaks took care of business Tuesday night and knocked off the University of Mount Union in the opening round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament, they’re one step closer to getting their wish.

JCU, the second seed in the eight-team tournament, knocked off seventh-seeded Mount Union by a score of 75-68.

A total team effort helped JCU knock off Mount Union for the third time this season.

Six Blue Streaks scored at least eight points, led by Haynes who finished with 18 points before fouling out late in the second half.

Junior Corey Shontz had a terrific game all-around, finishing with 17 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. That was with Mount Union concentrating on him after he scored 30 points in their last meeting.

The Purple Raiders came up seven points short – agonizing when you consider that they missed 17 free throws.

The Blue Streaks will now host Capital University, a team they beat both times they met this season, tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the conference semifinals.

If JCU can beat a good Capital team for the third time this season and if Marietta is able to take care of business against Heidelberg University, that will setup a showdown in Marietta on Saturday evening between the two teams that played a classic last Saturday.

That would be a game that would be played with high intensity and energy for 40 minutes due to the fact that the two teams are fresh off a battle and things could certainly be a bit more interesting if they meet for a third time.

Marietta came into the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center  having already clinched the regular season title and were really playing for what many believe would be a harbinger of the conference championship.

“Even though Marietta locked it up, they still had something to prove. I think that having a lot of kids from the Cleveland area contributed to that,” said coach Mike Moran.

Spurred by a rowdy student section, Haynes and junior Mark Hester both slammed down dunks in a seesaw first half that yielded five lead changes.

Notwithstanding the dunks and hostile atmosphere, the No. 11 team in Division III basketball would not be outdone.

One of Marietta’s Cleveland players, freshman Tyler Hammond, swung the momentum in favor of the away team with a three-pointer at the first half buzzer to close out the half with the Pioneers up by six.

“We knew it was going to be a heck of a battle. Our problem was not the final few minutes, it was the first three or four minutes. We made a few adjustments on defense at the half,” said Moran.

The Pioneers would comfortably hold a lead by as many as nine points before Shontz hit his only three-pointer at the 9:08 mark in the second half.

From then on out the two titan teams atop the conference would trade mutual barbs while simultaneously avoiding the disastrous fatal blow. In a game as emotionally charged as this one – Moran was slapped with a technical foul upon arguing a charging violation against the Blue Streaks – it seemed fitting that a buzzer beater was in order from one side or the other.

Late in the contest and holding a precarious one-point lead, Conner Kilpatrick of Marietta put Haynes on the line with his fifth personal foul. Haynes was true on both shots to leapfrog JCU over Marietta by a point for the time being.

After missed field goals on both subsequent possessions the stage was set for Marietta to hold for one final shot. Just like the ending to the first half, Marietta converted.

Junior Kevin Knab, branded with a fresh cut above the eye from a confrontation earlier in the game, pulled up from the foul line and tallied a two-pointer as time expired.

Upon draining the basket, Knab incurred the ire of Blue Streak fans by sprinting to the student section on the other side of the gym to mockingly gesture in the direction of the home faithful.

The 82-81 loss marked the second time Marietta defeated JCU this year. The two teams could very well meet one last time in the conference championship on Saturday.

And this time, there’s more on the line: an automatic trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Making things more interesting was the lingering probability that senior Lee Jennings would pass Shayla Bell, who played at JCU from 2002-2005, to become the all-time leading scorer in program history. Jennings was only 20 points away from that feat when the Blue Streaks traveled to Berea, Ohio on Feb. 9 to face first place Baldwin-Wallace College. While few doubted she would surpass Bell on this night, many questioned the possibility of a Blue Streak victory.

Heading into the game, JCU had lost three of their previous four games. Their only victory during that stretch came against a lowly Heidelberg University team that is still in search of a conference win.

Nevertheless, JCU hung with their opponent, allowing them no more than an eight-point lead in the first 15 minutes of the game.

Junior Emilee Ritchie gave the Blue Streaks their first lead of the night when she connected on a shot from beyond the arc with 4:23 remaining in the first half.

After JCU extended their lead to three off a jumper from freshman Allie Lustig, B-W went on a miniature run to end the half up by one, 37-36.

Ritchie nailed her second of three shots from three-point land to put JCU ahead on the scoreboard on the first possession of the second half. After leading by as many as nine points on two separate occasions, the home team turned on a switch. With 4:34 remaining, B-W upped the ante and harassed the last place scoring defense in the conference.

In the span of one minute, the Blue Streaks saw their lead turn into a one point deficit.  After a timeout by coach Kristie Maravalli, freshman Missy Spahar connected on two free-throw attempts to put JCU up for good. The final score read 75-73, an important victory for a team looking to stay afloat in the conference playoff picture.

With 28 points, Jennings accrued the 1,619 points to best Bell.

“It’s an honor to be the all-time leading scorer at John Carroll. It’s a mark I’ve been able to leave on the program and I’m grateful that I’ve had the opportunity to do so,” said Jennings.

The team had little time to celebrate as they had a weekend game on the road against one of the top teams in the conference in Wilmington College on Feb. 12.

The Quakers were riding high after winning eight times in their last nine games heading into the contest with JCU.

Inability to rebound was the central theme for the Blue Streaks all afternoon, and while they undoubtedly bested their opponents in the turnover battle, it was a poor effort on the boards that proved catastrophic.

The Blue Streaks turned the ball over only five times, but managed to grab a meager 22 rebounds compared to the 57 Wilmington hauled in.

The first half was largely all Blue Streaks until the final four minutes. Spahar drained a shot to put JCU up by three points with 4:40 to go in the half. Wilmington promptly called a timeout which triggered a 14-2 Quaker run to end the first half.

The second half offered no magic for the Blue Streaks. Propelled by a 22-point effort from Olivia Waters, the Quakers sent JCU on the long bus ride home pondering the mistakes of a 91-79 defeat.

Four Blue Streaks scored in double digits: Lustig, Jennings, Spahar and Ritchie, yet it wasn’t enough.

“This last game is important for us to get ready for the playoffs. It’s a time for us to fine-tune our faults, and get ready to make a run in the playoffs,” said Jennings, who finished the Wilmington game with 19 points.

The Blue Streaks (12-11, 7-9 OAC) have clinched a playoff berth. They will close out the regular season with a home game on Saturday against Marietta College before heading to the road on Tuesday in the quarterfinal round of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament.

Despite fantastic efforts from senior Lee Jennings and freshman Missy Spahar, the Blue Streaks league-worst scoring defense was exploited for a combined 183 points in the contests.  

JCU entered the Jan. 26 game at the DeCarlo Varsity Center against No. 18 Mount Union on a three-game win streak. The Blue Streaks were able to get scoring from a variety of sources during the run. 

Jennings and her former high school teammate, junior Emilee Ritchie, as well as freshmen Allison Lustig, Hilary Liwosz and Heidi Mervar all notched double figures at least once in the three conference wins. 

The streak ended when Mount Union ruthlessly contained the secondary scoring. Aside from the trio of Jennings, Spahar, and Ritchie,  JCU accrued just four points.

“It’s definitely a factor to have more contributors,” said Jennings. “We are best when we have everyone bringing something to the table.”

The stellar shooting of Mount Union only served to exacerbate the offensive futility. 

As the first half drew to a close the Purple Raiders were cruising along by shooting 57.5 percent from the field compared to John Carroll’s 42.4 percent. 

Kori Wiedt paced the Purple Raiders, who led by as many as 28 points in the second half, with 18 points and three rebounds. 

The Blue Streaks were able to chip away at the lead, at one point shrinking the Mount advantage to 13, but the second half proved perfunctory, as the outcome never seemed to be in doubt. 

The 94-79 loss obscured a 39 point effort on the part of Jennings, who also tallied 32 in the next game en route to being named OAC Player of the Week.

“I’m not a stat person,” Jennings said. “Of course I want to do well to try and help my team win, but that’s all. I want to win. That’s the bottom line.”

The Blue Streaks traveled to Ada, Ohio to face third place Ohio Northern University in the second meeting of the season between the two squads. 

JCU managed a meager 44 points in the first go-round sans Jennings. Unlike the first meeting, the Blue Streaks stayed with their opponent basket for basket, with no team holding a lead of more than eight points in the first half. ONU owned a seven point lead at 45-38 going into halftime. 

Ignited by the play of senior Jeanne Bockey, the Polar Bears gave little ground to the moribund Blue Streak defense. Bockey finished with 24 points and five assists. 

On the other side of the ball, the offensive load was carried by Jennings (32 points), Spahar (17 points) and Lustig. The newcomer from Palo Alto, Calif. connected on five three-pointers to finish with 17 points. 

While the lead by ONU was not insurmountable, JCU was once again unable to contain another high-powered offense and dropped the game, 89-79.

“We’re going to put up 70-plus points each night, but we need to bear down defensively,” Jennings said.

The Blue Streaks entered the trip with a 3-1 record as they looked to improve the mark with wins against Allegheny College and Capital University. 

Alas, a victory would only come against the non-conference foe and leave the Blue Streaks 0-1 to start Ohio Athletic Conference competition.

Senior Lee Jennings paced the Blue Streaks on Dec. 1 against Allegheny with 23 points and eight rebounds. 

The play of Jennings was contagious among a young, talented squad that boasts 12 freshmen. In all, five players were able to notch double-digit points en route to an 88-82 victory to push the Blue Streaks record to a sizzling 4-1 in the early portion of their non-conference schedule. 

The beginning of the Allegheny game was marked by six ties and three lead changes before freshman Allison Lustig nailed a three pointer at the 9:19 mark of the first half to spark a 24-15 run for the Blue Streaks. 

They would enter the half leading by the score of 42-33. The Blue Streaks built a 50-33 lead at the beginning of the second half that proved to be a very important cushion as Allegheny crawled back into the contest to pull within four points in the last minute. 

A final bucket from freshman Missy Spahar with 35 seconds left in the game sealed the victory for the Blue Streaks. 

Spahar finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double in as many games.

With little time to celebrate the victory, the team then traveled to Columbus on Saturday to square off against conference foe Capital University, a team they have had minimal success against this decade. 

After the Blue Streaks were able to create a 15-12 lead, Capital charged back on a 14-3 run capped by a Rebekah Will jump shot with 6:51 left in the first half to put the Crusaders up by a score of 29-18. 

The Blue Streaks were able to mount a bit of an offensive spurt to close out the half and pull to within seven points at 39-32 heading into the intermission. 

John Carroll lacked consistency in the second half.

Untimely turnovers, poor shooting and passive rebounding contributed to the demise. 

The Blue Streaks shot just 32 percent from the field in the second half as they dropped their first conference game by a score of 75-60. 

“We didn’t play well enough. We had 18 turnovers and we gave up too many offensive rebounds,” said coach Kristie Maravalli. “Any opportunity we had to make those couple stops, we could never make that run to close the gap.” 

For the third time this year, junior transfer Emilee Ritchie led the squad in scoring. She dropped 16 points and knocked down four of her 10 three-point attempts.

“I think we came out strong and played hard, but we have a lot to learn,” Ritchie said. “Capital is a good test. They are respected in the conference. I feel like we need to come together defensively and take care of the boards better if we want to become a better team.”

So far this season, JCU has been outrebounded by their opponent by an average of five rebounds per game. They finished ninth in rebounding margin a season ago, and that team had Caitlin Sureck, who was known as one of the better rebounders in the conference.

That’s something they’ll need to correct as they go forward, especially in a conference that has as many good teams as the Ohio Athletic Conference.

They’ll have a chance to start correcting their mistakes on Saturday when they host the Ohio Northern University Polar Bears at 2 p.m. in the Tony DeCarlo Varsity Center.

Last year, the Polar Bears won both meetings between the two schools – both by a 15-point margin.

The Blue Streaks had little time to mend the wounds of an inauspicious run that saw them lose four of their last six regular season Ohio Athletic Conference contests. Nevertheless, the quarterfinal matchup Nov. 2 pitted them against the University of Mount Union Purple Raiders, a team that handed them a 1-0 loss just a few weeks earlier.

Early in the second half it looked as if John Carroll was going to be sent home from Alliance without any hope of playing another OAC game in 2010.

In the game’s 52nd minute, the Purple Raiders held a 2-0 lead.

“The mindset of the team after that second goal was the same as when we came on the field for the second half. We knew we had to come out hard in the second half and really put away some of our chances and get the momentum back,” said freshman Kevin McKamish.

The Blue Streaks responded quickly as junior Kyle Buxman netted his third goal of the season to cut the lead in half just two minutes after John Carroll surrendered the second goal. 

Buxman then set up McKamish for the equalizer in the 71st minute. 

“I knew someone would get the second goal to tie it up. It just happened to be me,” said McKamish. “[Kyle] played me a great ball and I had an opening to volley it with my left foot right past the goalie.”

The mood then quickly turned sour in the 79th minute as Mount Union scored a third goal that put the Blue Streaks on the ropes. 

The last ten minutes saw a barrage of shots against Mount Union goalkeeper Jonathan Critell but none would penetrate the twine. Eventually McKamish would launch an attempt from beyond 25 yards that found its way behind Critell to tie the game at three with just three minutes remaining. 

“The feeling on the field was not like we were down by a goal with 12 minutes left.  The team responded extremely well and I was feeling very confident that we would get one before regulation, possibly even two,” said McKamish.

After two sessions of scoreless overtime, JCU capitalized on all five shootout chances, thereby advancing to the semifinals to face Heidelberg University.

Conditions in Tiffin during the second round matchup against the ‘Berg foreshadowed the night for the Blue Streaks: dreary. 

As a steady rain fell to the playing surface, John Carroll struggled to find the net on 14 shots. Heidelberg sophomore Grant Beck scored the only goal of the contest as the Student Princes advanced to the OAC Championship.  

“The more you have invested, the tougher it is to go out like that.  And these guys have invested a lot.  It’s the risk you take when you go after a championship,” said senior captain Jeff Kosek.  “But heads are up and there are still great players returning for next season.”

The Blue Streaks, fifth in the OAC at the end of the regular season, finished 11-9-1.

Both the men’s and women’s teams traveled away from Don Shula Stadium to begin their quest for successful seasons. 

The fortunes of both squads, however, could not have been more opposite. The men were able to squeeze out an important non-conference victory against defending NCAC Champion Denison, while the Lady Blue Streaks ended the week winless in three contests.

The women’s team, who placed third in the Ohio Athletic Conference in 2009, did nearly everything right except bulge the twine in the season opener at Hiram College. 

The Blue Streaks were able to manage six shots in the first half. Sophomore midfielder Stephanie Takeuchi was able to net the only shot on goal for Hiram, but it slipped past JCU senior goaltender Molly Gradowski at the 25:20 minute mark of the first half and gave them a lead they would carry into the second half. 

“We still had confidence because we knew we were the better team and we were determined to work back from a deficit,” said junior forward Colleen Harmon.

The Blue Streaks continued their frenzied offensive assault in the second half, but Hiram’s senior goaltender Emily Bristol would turn aside all six shots directed toward the goal. 

In all, ten JCU players tallied at least one shot, eight of which came in the second half.  

Alas, the strong goaltending of Hiram was able to outlast the onslaught of opportunity as the Blue Streaks fell by a 1-0 count.    

The weekend wasn’t any gentler to the Lady Streaks as they travelled north to participate in the Rochester Institute of Technology’s Rachel Miller Memorial Tournament. 

The first opponent was the host R.I.T. squad.

Freshman midfielder Genny Goergen got things started in the 61st minute for JCU as she knocked in the first goal of the 2010 campaign, which was also the first of her collegiate career.

However, the lead was short lived. 

The equalizer came in the 67th minute off the foot of Kasey Dobrodziej. RI.T. went on to win in an overtime as they dominated with five shots to JCU’s zero. 

Gradowski was solid in goal, stopping nine shots. 

The next day JCU would once again drop to SUNY Courtland in overtime by a score of 1-0.

The men’s team was able to fare much better in their lone game last week against defending NCAC Champion Denison. 

Tarnished by injuries to three starters, the Blue Streaks remained even keel even after they surrendered the opening goal to the Big Red.

“It was encouraging coming back from a deficit,” said senior midfielder Mike Zumerling. “You could see from our players that we wanted it and weren’t going to stop until we got it.”

The goal by Denison emboldened the fast-paced Streaks who eventually took advantage of a penalty kick. 

Senior Jeff Kosek had his initial kick stopped by goaltender Matt Wagner, but the undeterred senior took advantage of Wagner’s poor positioning to score the tying goal on the rebound. 

 Senior Joe Ciachhi dissolved any notions of overtime in the 89th minute when he slid home a pass from junior Corey Rider behind Wagner. 

The hard fought victory exemplified the depth of this JCU team who were without 2009 starters Jake Milli, Thor Eriksen and Andrew Fatigati.

“Everyone can play at a high level. It shows the versatility of this team,” said Zumerling.

The men will head to Fredonia, N.Y., over the weekend to participate in the Clarion Hotel Soccer Classic.

The next home match for Hector Marinaro’s squad doesn’t come until Sept. 25 when they host Misericordia University.

The women’s team will host their home opener on Friday when Grove City College comes to town for a 2 p.m. game.

They’ll then host Oberlin College at 2:15 p.m. on Saturday in the friendly confines of Don Shula Stadium.

Editor’s Note: Just before this edition of The Carroll News went to print, the men’s soccer team took on Notre Dame College. Full details of the game are available at www.jcusports.com