Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
4
Winner John Carroll JCU (12-3-2, 6-1-0)
3
Wilmington (OH) Wilm (11-3-3, 4-3-0)
Winner
John Carroll JCU
(12-3-2, 6-1-0)
4
Final
3
Wilmington (OH) Wilm
(11-3-3, 4-3-0)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Carroll JCU 1 3 4
Wilmington (OH) Wilm 1 2 3
Logan Penton file photo
Jose Figueroa

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

Men's Soccer Thwarts Quakers for a Crucial Victory

A Chaotic Offensive Endeavor Rewards Blue Streaks with Three Points

WILMINGTON, Ohio – With three more conference matches left in their Ohio Athletic Conference tenure, the John Carroll Blue Streaks laced their boots and prepared for a trip down south to Wilmington, Ohio to take on the Quakers. Crunch time impending and a team hot off of a 7-0 victory, Deki's Army was ready to meet their match.

Everything leading up to today's match set viewers up for a "unstoppable force vs. immovable object" endeavor, replete with the #13-ranked defense in the Blue Streaks, and Division III's highest scoring team in the Wilmington Quakers.

A chilly windy evening at Williams Stadium set the stage for a classic, and each team on the pitch completed the act with flying colors—a goalfest battle for the ages with the Blue Streaks taking a massive 4-3 win.

The beginning of the match was John Carroll firing on all cylinders with chances, the Quakers starting in a three-at-the-back formation uncharacteristic of them this season. The Blue Streaks saw plenty of openings and maximized them.

The first 15 minutes sought a handful of massive chances for the visitors. In just the sixth minute, Jaden Wright got a lovely ball through on goal. The rushing Norwegian keeper Oliver Metz made the save as Wright looked to flick it over him, Metz turning and saving with the upper side of his body just below the underarm.

Two minutes later, a great build gave Logan Penton a low shot at the near post, which forced a decent save from the keeper.

Five minutes after that, fifth-year Hayden Haffner slotted a lovely ball through as both Luka Pranjeta and Logan Penton ran onto. As Pranjeta claimed the ball, Penton tried desperately to clear the space, instead congesting Pranjeta's shot further and tapping the deflection back out of bounds. Some frustrations were expressed, and not many expected what was to come later on.

In the 15th minute, Logan Penton received a cross and struck a half volley from the right hand side of the box, a look of great power as the ball was sent just over the crossbar. The Blue Streaks' offense was feasting on a vulnerable back line, and some combustible elements were set off just a few minutes later.

A great coast-to-coast build up gave the Blue Streaks the first goal of a fairly eventful outing. Building out of the back, Izac Coleman sent a ball up to none other than Jaden Wright, who had been terrorizing an unsuspecting back line up until that point. Wright carried the ball up the field himself and fired a low shot into the bottom left corner, just beating the outstretched glove of the keeper Metz. The Blue Streaks were off to a great start.

With a formation shift and a quick change in momentum, the Quakers began looking more dangerous. Although not improving their chances from a quantitative standpoint, they began to maximize their looks at the goal just that much more.

The Quakers would bring the game back to even ground in the 36th minute. A ball whipped into the left hand side was projected to hit a patch of players in the center of the box. After just floating over and taking a massive bounce, the ball found its way into the path of Jace Houck, who would control it and tap it just past Moher for an equalizer. Despite much protest for a foul off the ball in the buildup, it fell upon deaf ears. The Blue Streaks were still in good shape from a standpoint of momentum, but were taken aback by the tough circumstances of the goal.

The rest of the first half did not render much excitement, and both teams headed into the break 1-1.

Entering the second half, things stayed at a much more even pace, but ten minutes into the half, the first of many in a beautifully lucrative span.

Progressing through the center, the Quakers were moving forward with menace. With the ball at the feet of the sophomore Jace Houck, the midfielder scanned his parameters and played a ball to the right hand flank for Kaden Young, a key offensive weapon on that attacking line for Wilmington. Left wide open, Young took his space aggressively, and placed a beautiful finesse shot into the top left corner as Moher fruitlessly attempted to rush him. The Quakers had the game in their hands, but not for long.

Three and a half minutes later, the Blue Streaks were in their attacking third with the aftermath of a corner. Trapped with defenders, fifth year Jaden Wright played a ball to the overlapping Hayden Haffner. Haffner's low cross deflected off of a Wilmington defender and fell to Luka Pranjeta, who smashed a low ball to Logan Penton in the center as he smashed it into the top netting to equalize the gain once again.

After the equalizer, the Blue Streaks made a key formation change for the remainder of the game, a tactical choice that was deemed to have some short-run benefits for the players on the pitch.

John Carroll took the lead just six minutes after the tying goal. After the Blue Streaks regained possession with some physical play in the center of the park, a few wonderful one-touch flick-ons found Izac Coleman on the left hand side crashing into the box. The graduate student fullback squared it into the middle for a sliding Luka Pranjeta, whose efforts were broken up by a great reflex stop from the keeper. An attempt at a header clear from the Wilmington defender would end up going backwards, and Logan Penton secured a brace tapping it in against the post.

Another brash turn in a game now burst wide open, it was as though things could not get much better for the Blue Streaks, but they certainly could. Ninety seconds after taking the lead, the Blue Streaks marched down the field yet again, and Pranjeta linked up with the fifth-year Penton a second time with a squared ball across to Penton for a hat trick in just seven minutes, rivaling his four-minute hat trick last year against Baldwin Wallace. A swing for the ages, and Wenzler's Warriors were now really feeling themselves.

The two-goal cushion was proven necessary just moments later. After a foul in transition, the Quakers were set to take a free kick from the right center side of the park approximately 38 yards away from goal. Junior Kaden Young over the ball, Young struck a ball with brute power, yet majestic accuracy as a missile of an effort nested itself perfectly into the top left corner, leaving a vapor trail behind it.

With a stone faced stare and a hunger for more, Young treaded back to the midfield line as if nothing had happened, while the Blue Streaks' bench was left in pure awe, not speaking a word for about 30 seconds after the fact. A strike referred to as "one of the most perfect free kicks ever taken" by a handful of players on the bus afterwards, and with good reason.

No matter what you believe in, taking a look at that shot could give one a firm affirmation Kaden Young's left foot was kissed by God. A big moment for Wilmington, putting the exclamation point on a whopping five goals in just a thirteen-minute span.

As the chaos died down and the smoke cleared, things return to their equilibrium with even soccer from both sides, pushing forward with danger but not quite getting any convincing chances in the end.

The Quakers' last great look came in the 82nd minute, a corner being drawn off of a good shot from the left hand flank taking just enough deflection to float a couple of inches over the bar. A brilliantly placed corner fell to the head of Young, who headed it back into the middle for a light shot stopped just in time on the line by Brenden Moher.

John Carroll played prevention for the remainder of the game, keeping the ball in their attacking third and securing a massive three points on the road.

The Blue Streaks have their work cut out for them in the final two games of the season as they rise to an impressive 6-1 in OAC play, boosting up to second on the table just behind Mount Union.

The last two games will be the most critical of the season, with the Blue Streaks finishing up their home games on Wednesday at Don Shula Stadium against Otterbein—one of the most historically intense rivalries across men's soccer. Their final game will be in Ada the following Saturday to take on #18 Ohio Northern University, which ought to have huge implications for the postseason.
Print Friendly Version

Scoring Summary

Scoring Summary
Scoring Team Scoring Play
17:48
JCU Jaden Wright (5)
GOAL by JCU Wright, Jaden.
35:08
Wilm Jace Houck (2)
Assisted By: William Jansson
GOAL by Wilm Houck, Jace Assist by Jansson, William.
52:37
Wilm Kaden Young (15)
Assisted By: Jace Houck
GOAL by Wilm Young, Kaden Assist by Houck, Jace.
56:12
JCU Logan Penton (6)
Assisted By: Luka Pranjeta
GOAL by JCU Penton, Logan Assist by Pranjeta, Luka.
62:02
JCU Logan Penton (6)
GOAL by JCU Penton, Logan.
63:38
JCU Logan Penton (6)
Assisted By: Luka Pranjeta
GOAL by JCU Penton, Logan Assist by Pranjeta, Luka.
65:04
Wilm Kaden Young (15)
GOAL by Wilm Young, Kaden.

Related Headlines

Sponsors