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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Patrick Koenig vs. Capital action shot
Jose Figueroa
Patrick Koenig found the back of the net for the second match in a row.
1
John Carroll JCU (11-5-1, 5-3-0)
3
Winner Mount Union MTU (15-1-1, 6-1-1)
John Carroll JCU
(11-5-1, 5-3-0)
1
Final
3
Mount Union MTU
(15-1-1, 6-1-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Carroll JCU 0 1 1
Mount Union MTU 0 3 3

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Gianluca DiGiacomo, Staff Writer

Men's Soccer Suffers a Road Loss at #8 Mount Union

ALLIANCE, Ohio -- On Wednesday night, John Carroll Men's Soccer traveled to Alliance for a massive weeknight contest as they faced off against a fierce school rival in the Purple Raiders of the University of Mount Union. A match panning out to be an absolute must-win for the Blue Streaks; taking a brutal strike to their season with back-to-back conference losses over Capital and Otterbein.

Historically, John Carroll has been an absolute dominating force in the realm of soccer when matched up against the Purple Raiders. Up until tonight, the John Carroll Blue Streaks enjoyed a commanding 21-2-3 recording against Mount Union dating back to 1996, with their opposition's last victory coming all the way back in 2003–a whopping 7,309 days.

All of this in mind, Mount Union has been a team reborn this season; the core the coaching staff has invested in have not only gotten more exposure and experience through the years, but have improved massively in such a short window of time. Their tactics and structure have been processed and distilled to perfectly mold the talent head coach David Krems has been supplied with, and many players have gone above and beyond this season in sacrificing extraneous matters for the betterment of the squad.

All of the work the Purple Raiders have put into their program has certainly yielded results; the team advancing to a record of 15-1-1, and a 6-1-1 record within the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) after a 3-1 win tonight over the John Carroll Blue Streaks. Not to mention finding themselves ranked #8 in the national in the recent coaches polls.

A beautiful night for soccer in Alliance commenced, with both teams hungry and willing, to each their own. John Carroll desperate to get the back half of conference play under control after back-to-back losses, while Mount Union looked to fulfill a long-awaited prophecy in a victory over the Blue Streaks.

The official's whistle blew and the two teams were off. Both teams looked to find their footing; John Carroll opted to manipulate the game into their pace of play, while Mount Union worked with their usual mindset. The Purple Raiders would line up in a 3-5-2, with loads of talent being sprinkled around the pitch with the likes of Omar Najjar and Emilio Spetic in the center of the park, and deadly attacking acumen in the dynamic duo of Carter Hancock and Jamon McCort. Mount Union would be on the back foot in the cumulative possession race, but certainly did enjoy their time with the ball.

The Purple Raiders played with instinct. Although carefully calculated, the Purple Raiders would always know when to execute– from perfectly-timed winding runs behind the back line to great defensive pushes.

John Carroll held the tempo, but neither team would give in as the match would be scoreless at the halfway point; the only truly offensive moments coming from a shot off of the post from Carter Hancock and a promising run into the box from John Carroll's Izac Coleman. Both teams had a proper stake in the game at this point, and those fifteen minutes of rest would be crucial in preparation for the second half.

Through the second half of play, it would only take the Purple Raiders six minutes to find a chance at goal. With a run on the right hand side, it would only take a light shove to send Mount Union to the penalty spot. Certainly a softer foul, but with the circumstances of the attack a certainly justifiable call from the official.

Mount Union's offensive titan Carter Hancock buried a penalty left of center to put the Purple Raiders up, 1-0.

After this goal, a switch flipped in John Carroll, starting to move with far more of a pep in their step. The Blue Streaks progressed much more convincingly and got some stellar efforts towards their goal. Despite some good looks up front, Wenzler's Warriors lacked an end product, and Mount Union quickly found a response to halt their efforts to equalize.

In the 70th minute, Mount Union would have a great counter attack through the center, as midfielder Kabiona Ramadhani slid a ball through on the right hand side to Braedon Kennedy. Kennedy had acres of green ahead of him, and had plenty of time to configure a cool, collected finish to send the Purple Raiders bench into hysterics.

Just three minutes later, the epitaph would be etched on the Blue Streaks' gravestone, as a ball sent into the box from a corner kick would take a few deflections before the center back Zak Peterjohn would find Mount Union a third.

John Carroll scored with just over 90 seconds left courtesy of an absolute rocket from Patrick Koenig, but it would not be enough, as John Carroll's reign of terror over Mount Union would finally cease.

John Carroll falls to 11-5-1 with their third consecutive loss. This would be the first time the Blue Streaks lost three consecutive matches since 2016, and the first team they've dropped three consecutive conference matches since 2010.

John Carroll will finish their regular season in New Concord as they prepare to take on Muskingum University on Saturday, looking to finish their conference play on a high note before the OAC Tournament next week.
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