Skyler Blake (57) and Clayton Karam (77) are two of the best players in D-III.

OAC Tournament Preview: Rautenstaruch's squad looking to capture fifth consecutive OAC Tournament crown

5/6/2021 1:05:00 PM | By: By: Kyle Kelly, Senior Staff Writer

Skyler Blake (57) and Clayton Karam (77) are two of the best players in D-III.

The Blue Streaks take on Otterbein tonight in the semifinal at Don Shula Stadium.

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- The quest for another trophy has begun.

For the seventh time in program history, John Carroll University Men's Lacrosse has punched their ticket to the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. The Blue Streaks have become a mainstay in the OAC Tournament since the program's inception as a varsity sport in 2014, earning a bid every year since. Getting to the OAC Tournament is just one goal; winning a championship is another. The Blue and Gold enter this week's tournament as the four-time reigning conference champions.

Three of those OAC Championship trophies have come under the direction of Joe Rautenstrauch, who is in his fifth season as head coach. Like any season, the 2021 campaign has had its fair share of challenges; which makes the success during the COVID-19 pandemic that much sweeter.

The Blue Streaks concluded the 2021 regular season on Saturday, May 1, with a 14-2 win over Otterbein University. With the win, John Carroll secured a 12-1 record on the season and is riding an 11-game win streak into the tournament. That is the most games won in a row by a JCU squad heading into a postseason battle.

A familiar foe is the opponent for tonight's semifinal matchup. The Blue and Gold are set to take on the Otterbein Cardinals at Don Shula Stadium at 7 p.m. This will be the 11th all-time meeting between the two squads and third encounter in the OAC tournament. The Blue Streaks hold a 6-4 record in the series against Otterbein and are 2-1 versus the Cardinals in the postseason.

"We try to not change our preparation at all," Rautenstrauch said. "We prepare every game to go 1-0 and that's the mentality for the semifinal. I don't think guys bear any weight of the number of championships we have won in a row. It's a completely new team and we are excited to compete for an OAC Championship."

Don Shula Stadium has become a fortress under Rautenstrauch's squad. The Blue Streaks are 7-0 on their home turf this season and have won 11 consecutive games in University Heights dating back to the 2019 season. John Carroll has also never lost an OAC Tournament game at "The Shu" (7-0) and is undefeated (5-0) every time they've seen Otterbein on Wasmer Field.

With only one loss on the season and each win adding onto the success, John Carroll enters the tournament as one of the top statistical teams in the nation. Of the 231 teams ranked, the Blue Streaks are first in scoring margin (17.62) and clearing percentage (.942). Having the No. 1 goalscorer in Division III certainly helps.

Offensively, the Blue and Gold hold the fourth scoring offense with an average of 21.85 goals per game. The NCAA's leading goal-scorer, Skyler Blake, has accounted for nearly a third of those goals (6.92). Blake, a three-time All-OAC (Second Team in 2017 & 18; First Team in 2019) honoree, is the all-time leading scorer in JCU history (254 goals) and has also accounted for the most points (343) in the program. Blake's accolades look strong at the national level too. His 254 goals during his career leads all active NCAA players and his point-total ranks second.

"He has been extremely important to our success, scoring the amount of goals he has, but we are No. 1 in the country in assists per game as a team, so a lot of guys help get him those good looks," Rautenstrauch said. "He's a great leader on and off the field, so it's more than just the amount of goals he has scored, it's the example he sets for guys every day."

Brendan Whitty can at least take some of the credit for the Blue Streaks offensive success. Whitty has tallied a conference-best and program-record 43 assists so far this season. Nationally, Whitty's 3.58 assists per game ranks fifth. However, Whitty is not just the helper of the goals, he can score too. The two-time All-OAC Honorable Mention attacker has found the back of the net 23 times during the 2021 campaign.

Even though the Blue Streaks are well-positioned with Blake's scoring and Whitty's selflessness, Bennett Gorman (42 points), Matt Berdysiak (39 points) and Kevin Hack (38 points) cannot be overlooked on the offensive end. Along with Blake, Gorman has become a cornerstone of the program and is second on the team with 25 helpers. Gorman has played a key role in JCU leading the NCAA with 169 assists this season. Berdysiak and Hack (2019 Second Team All-OAC) have added 27 and 25 goals on the year, helping the Blue and Gold as the only team in the conference with four players with at least 20 goals.

Opposing teams game plans tend to focus on Blake, which means the remaining JCU offensive output needs to take control. Blake can oftentimes transition his role from elite goalscorer to passer.

"Our last Otterbein game, they really focused on taking Skyler out of the game. He only had one goal," Rautenstrauch said. "He became a feeder having three assists and the rest of the guys stepped up. I don't think we base our offense around Skyler, so it's not a worry."

On the back end, Clayton Karam has become the best defender in JCU history. Karam has won OAC Defensive Player of the Year twice and has gathered 401 ground balls in his career — a mark that ranks 10th among active NCAA players. In addition, Karam has also caused a conference-best 2.62 turnovers per game. The 2018 IMLCA All-Great Lakes Region selection is the program record holder in ground balls and caused turnovers in only 53 games played in his career.

In his second season, Sam Rodgers has played a pivotal role in the Blue Streaks having the second-best scoring defense (4.23 goals) in the country. Rodgers is second on the team with 13 caused turnovers. Fellow sophomore Brendan Hein has become a vacuum with 44 ground balls, which ranks second for the Blue and Gold and 12th in the conference.

"Coach Tim Edwards has done an incredible job making the unit mesh, and that's why we are so successful. We play as a unit of seven Nobody believes they are more important than the unit," Rautenstrauch said. "Couple that with great goaltending and that will always give you results on the field. The guys really take pride in every possession out there, no matter the score, there is no letting up."

Ian Venard is the key to the great goaltending. Venard boasts an OAC-best 66.7% save percentage and is 11-0 between the pipes this season. He has also collected 57 ground balls on the year, which ranks fourth in the conference.

This will be the first time John Carroll has played as two seed in the tournament, but history serves the team well. The Blue Streaks are 3-0 all-time against No. 3 seeds in the OAC Tournament and are 5-1 in the semifinals.

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