Just 12 days ago, the Blue and Gold honored their four seniors and came away with a convincing 2-0 victory over Marietta.

Tonight, it didn't seem to be that much different, although the score would say otherwise.

One goal games can raise heart rates.

On a cold and brisk night in University Heights, the OAC regular season champions and top seeded Blue Streaks came away with a complete 1-0 victory to advance to the OAC Championship.

It will be John Carroll's eighth appearance in the OAC title bout in the last nine seasons.

Coach Hector Marinaro sounded pleased after the match when asked about making it back to the conference title.

"Anytime you can win a semifinal in the OAC, it's a great achievement. To get into the [OAC] final again…we are proud of the team and what they've accomplished."

The match began with the Blue Streaks using a mixture of quick short passes and deep lob passes to create a fast tempo that pushed the ball upfield. Defensively, they were in good form as they intercepted passes in the Pioneer attacking third the whole night and utilized counterattacks to create some crossing and scoring chances on their own offensive third.

However, the Blue and Gold couldn't cash in for the first 45 minutes, despite possession being on their side of the field for most of the first half.  Will Turrittin and Matt Nigro almost connected via a corner in the 23rd minute that would've put the Blue Streaks on the scoreboard, but the ball was cleared off the goal line by a Pioneer defender at the last moment.

After one half of play, the Blue Streaks held an advantage in shots on goal (two to one), shots taken (six to three) and corners (three to one).

A couple minutes into the second half, however, things quickly changed for the Blue Streaks on the offensive end.

In the 49th minute, Turrittin had a throw-in from the 10 yard line, received the ball back from a teammate, and then found Mario Aboumitri on a low cross which led to Aboumitri using his right foot to slot the ball into the lower 90 on first touch to put the Blue and Gold on the scoreboard 1-0.

"I saw Will coming into the box and he just laid it off and I had to make that front post shot and I finished it…" Aboumitri said after the match. He later went on to say, "They expect a lot out of me as a freshman. I'm going to go out there and do my part. It's been a great run, but we're not done yet."

In the 65th minute, Justin Brown had a shot on goal that hit off the post. and Aboumitri nearly had a brace off the rebound, but the shot sailed a tad to the right. A minute later, Jared Ianiro hit a screamer from outside the box, but the Pioneer goalie made a leaping save to keep the score the same.

If there was something to take away from this game, however, it was the strong defensive effort led by GK Connor Robinson and defenders Nicholas Ruggiero, Chase Fernkorn, Matt Nigro, and Stephen Schutt. They stifled the Marietta attack nearly the entire game and only gave them a single shot on goal.

The Blue and Gold finished the match with one goal (Aboumitri), one assist (Turrittin), seven corners, and six out of sixteen shots on goal. Meanwhile, the Pioneers finished with one out of four shots on goal, two corners, and two yellow cards.

The Blue Streaks will host Otterbein at 7:00 PM on Saturday night in Don Shula Stadium with the OAC championship and an automatic trip to the NCAA Tournament on the line.