Box Score Two teams began the night looking to punch the one ticket left for the remaining berth in the Ohio Athletic Championship match. It took nearly 95 minutes to decide which team would earn the right to travel on to Ada.

Despite letting a three-goal advantage slip away in regulation, John Carroll got its ticket punched thanks to an overtime goal by junior Thor Eriksen.

The fact that extra time was needed was a tribute to a Wilmington squad that weathered many storms Friday evening at Shula Stadium, some caused by Mother Nature and others by the Blue Streaks.

Coming out strong in the first half, the Blue Streaks collected three goals within the first 17 minutes of the game.

The first goal was tallied by sophomore Brian Potocnik in the second minute of the game. Senior goalkeeper Carl Contrascier kicked the ball to the opposing 40 yard-line where junior Nathan Sharbaugh outran the defender to collect the pass. Although Sharbaugh was unable to rocket the ball in the net, Potocnik pounced on the deflection to earn his fourth goal of the season.

In the 12th minute of play, junior Mariusz Trzeciak also connected with assists from both Potocnik and sophomore Liam Switalski. Freshman Michael Melfi also put another point on the board with a goal in the 16th minute.

“I think that we came out excited and pumped up and played great the first 15 … 20 minutes,” stated Coach Hector Marinaro. “We were really unlucky to not score four or five goals, but we got some tired legs towards the end.”

JCU surrendered a late first half goal but still seemed in control well into the second half.

Things changed dramatically in the final 15 minutes, as quaker junior Jeff Graham was in the right place at the right time to start a domino effect that forced overtime. Graham headed in a free kick from Henrik Hornaess that was started from 35 yards out in the 77th minute.

In the critical final five minutes of regulation, Hornnaess had another free kick from about 40 yards out following a JCU foul. With the wind at his back, he blasted a line drive ball that was slightly deflected into the net as it passed through a throng of bodies near the goal to knot the score at 3-3.

Both squads had golden chances to finish the game in regulation, but a Quaker shot hit the post in the 88th minute, and the Blue Streaks could not capitalize on a rebounded shot that had the Wilmington keeper out of position in the 89th minute.

Tension was evident on the field as the first overtime period began with the OAC championship game on the line. Less than six minutes passed before Eriksen scored perhaps the biggest goal yet in his career. Boban Cancar sent a free kick into the box that was redirected by freshman Michael Melfi. Eriksen seized on the loose ball and punched his team's pass to the title match.

“I was just so happy to score for my teammates,” said Eriksen, “I have been in this program for four seasons, and I want to make this year as special as I can. Definitely scoring that goal… I just wanted to do it for my teammates.”

The Streaks travel to Ada, Ohio to face Ohio Northern in the OAC championship Sunday in a rematch of the 2011 OAC final. The Blue and Gold fell to the Polar Bears in the 2012 regular season, 2-0, back on October 20 in Ada. Ohio Northern, the op seed and OAC regular season champion, had earned the right to host the championship contest by visture of a 3-1 win over Heidelberg earlier in the day on Friday.

“They're a great team [Ohio Northern], they're No. 7 in the country right now, 19-2 overall but we're going to go in and give it our all,” said Eriksen.