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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
1
Capital CAP (3-6-3, 2-1-0)
2
Winner John Carroll JCU (8-3-2, 2-1-0)
Capital CAP
(3-6-3, 2-1-0)
1
Final
2
John Carroll JCU
(8-3-2, 2-1-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Capital CAP 0 1 1
John Carroll JCU 1 1 2
Patrick Koenig goal vs. Capital 10-12-24
Jose Figueroa
Patrick Koenig finished off the clean sweep of Capital for the Blue Streaks. 

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Men's Soccer Conquers Capital in Saturday Night Home Win

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – While John Carroll and Capital are not necessarily bitter rivals on the pitch, tonight held plenty of meaning for the Blue Streaks.

A season ago, JCU Men's Soccer endured a 3-1 Senior Day defeat to the Comets at Don Shula Stadium in the regular season before getting revenge in a 2-1 overtime thriller in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. While both teams have different forms from a year ago, the Blue Streaks still wanted this one badly. 

While the Blue Streaks controlled the action, the result was close, with JCU emerging with a 2-1 conquest of the Comets. With the win, John Carroll advances to 8-3-2 overall and 2-1 in OAC play. 

Jaden Wright saw a close opportunity in the fourth minute, slotting it just wide. Logan Penton then headed a shot just wide in the fifth minute on a promising chance.

Shots followed in quick succession with a Nicholas Graeca shot on net and a Nathan Monastra rocket shot high in the 26th and 27th minute. After these two chances, Dejan Mladenovic went to the bench for the first time. 

After John Carroll dominated most of the early opportunities, Capital's nearly speed came to fruition with a close chance. That fired up the Blue Streaks on the ensuing opportunity.

Izac Coleman sent a gorgeous through ball that arced over the Capital defenses to a charging Patrick Koenig. The Naperville North grad charged ahead and drew the goalkeeper out of position, calmly right-footing a perfect shot low right in the 32nd minute. The goal marked Koenig's first since the season opener, and came at the right moment.

"It feels great to get back on track," said Koenig. "The boys have been working hard at training the last couple days trying to get back on schedule and we needed to get some things figured out. I think this is the start of a roll. Moving forward, we just need to keep our heads down and keep doing our thing."

While the Blue Streaks held the lead at the break, the advantage did not last too long into the second half.

Just under six minutes into the second half, Tony Epstein hit a shot off the post. And off the rebound, Jackson Terry fired it home for the equalizer in the 51st minute. 

The Blue Streaks showed some urgency, but perhaps not enough to overcome a speedy Comets side. Koenig did rocket a deep shot wide in the 57th minute, but from there, Capital found its footing. In the 64th minute, the Comets rocketed a shot off the crossbar in a moment that elicited a massive sigh of relief for JCU fans when it didn't go in. 

Each team then dug into the bench for the right combination to break the deadlock. And indeed, it would be two freshmen who checked into the match in the 60th and 63rd minutes to break the tie.

Off a Capital clear, Nick Mikulec flashed in and fired a touch forward to Dylan Halm. The Revere grad powered home a beautiful ball top cheddar for the go-ahead goal in the 70th minute. 

Not satisfied with the one goal lead, the Blue Streaks hunted for an insurance marker. Nicholas Graeca especially sought it out, dashing all over the pitch in pursuit and experiencing a couple close calls. 

In the final couple minutes, the Blue Streaks continued to pressure the Comets. Luka Pranjeta got in all alone with the goalie with a fantastic chance, but it bounded off the inside of the left post and out. 

In the end, it didn't matter, as the Blue Streaks held on for the victory. 

"We got a deep squad, Coach [Mladenovic] always says it, we have lots of guys who can rotate in, " said Koenig. "If we have guys who are struggling or dealing with injuries, which we've been dealing with, we have some guys who are younger who are going to step up to do the job. That's exactly what's happening, we have guys stepping up. Now, we need to go home and get some rest, make sure we're preparing the right way. We need to get three points on Wednesday and keep going through the OAC."

Next Up
The Blue Streaks will hit the road again on Wednesday, with the last meeting against Baldwin Wallace as conference rivals. 
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Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary
Scoring Team Scoring Play
31:44
JCU Patrick Koenig (2)
Assisted By: Izac Coleman
GOAL by JCU Koenig, Patrick Assist by Coleman, Izac.
50:58
CAP Jackson Terry (2)
Assisted By: Tony Epstein
GOAL by CAP Terry, Jackson Assist by Epstein, Tony.
69:44
JCU Dylan Halm (4)
Assisted By: Nick Mikulec
GOAL by JCU Halm, Dylan Assist by Mikulec, Nick.

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