Men's Soccer vs. Capital 2024 action shot

Peter Wangechi

OAC Quarterfinal Matchday Preview: #4 John Carroll University vs. #5 Capital University

11/5/2024 3:59:00 PM | By: Gianluca DiGiacomo, Staff Writer

Blue Streaks Suit Up for Final Ride in Postseason OAC Play

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – The final Ohio Athletic Conference regular season for your John Carroll Blue Streaks is finally in the books. Although it may have ended on a sour note, the backend of Deki's Army's 60th march is finally upon us. With one final shot to win the OAC right in front of them, it will be a hectic week ahead with the potential of three games in the next five days, two of which will likely be away if they can go all the way.

The future aside, before the Blue Streaks can fret about the possibilities of the future, they have to make it there first. The Blue and Gold have their work cut out for them on even the first step, with the Capital Comets making the trip up to Northeast Ohio, hungry for vengeance from their last two affairs and to get a step closer themselves to the highly coveted prize of an OAC Tournament Championship.

Meet the Opposition: #5 seed Capital University Comets

Form
For the second time this year, the Comets will make the trip to Don Shula Stadium for a 7 pm kickoff, this time with a 6-8-4 record, finishing their OAC campaign 5-3-1 in total, grabbing the #5 seed for the second consecutive year.

The squad's non-conference tenure was a tad grim for their usual standards, going 1-5-3 in all contests, the sole three-point endeavor coming from a 6-0 thrashing of Mount St. Joseph. To add insult to injury, four of the team's five losses were from a one-goal difference, excluding a difficult 5-0 defeat against Ohio Wesleyan.

Despite adversity stacked against them, the Comets redeemed themselves in conference play, winning the first two games over Baldwin Wallace and Heidelberg with seven goals across the two matches. Their momentum was suddenly halted with their first trip to University Heights, a goal in the 70th minute of play from first-year Dylan Halm made the big difference as the Blue Streaks took down the Comets, 2-1.

The next three results yielded tremendous momentum, though, getting a shutout a three goals over Marietta, battling for a draw at home over then #17 Ohio Northern, and holding one of Division III's best offenses to one goal for a 2-1 victory against Wilmington.

The final three games may not have gone entirely in their favor, but still kept their confidence levels high. The Comets fell to a similar fate as the Blue Streaks against the Otterbein Cardinals, losing 1-0 in a close-quartered duel. They picked up their final win over Muskingum with a 4-0 scoreline, and lost a nailbiter to Mount Union to close out, 4-3, making them one of just three teams on the year to score more than two goals on the Purple Raiders.

Meet the Coaching Staff
Head Coach Corey Kirk enters his first season as head coach at Capital University, after being hired prior to the 2024 season.

Beginning his career as a head coach at Watkins Memorial High School, Kirk later moved to New Albany High School as an associate Head Coach for the Eagles, helping guide the squad to a OHSAA Division I State Championship appearance in 2020. Within that season, he was named OSSCA's State Assistant Coach of the Year for his efforts.

Kirk began his collegiate coaching status as a disciple of legendary coach Jay Martin as an assistant at Ohio Wesleyan University for two years in 2021 and 2022. Kirk was on the staff that won NCAC Coaching Staff of the Year with two NCAA Tournament appearances while mentoring two All-Americans, five All-Regions, and twelve All-Conference honorees.

"I just want to be a guy that makes sure his players understand it's not my role to go out and perform…I have to put them in a situation where they are prepared," said Kirk. "We strive to set the environment to be successful and put our guys in situations where they not only can get better, but they want to get better."

In the most recent season, Kirk served as the head coach at Muskingum University, where he helped boost the team's win percentage and total goals scored.

As a player, Kirk was a four-year starter and team captain at nationally-ranked Ohio Dominican University, where he earned two Daktronics Scholar Athlete awards.

Team Style/Ones to Watch
Despite losses of key players such as Jack Kossoudji, Jack Francisco, and Jarrett Puckett, the Comets have not lost their identity of being a pacey, high intensity-oriented squad with loads of great talent still within their lineup. Off-ball movement, energy, and interconnectedness are the biggest parts of being successful within the Capital system.

A primary source of the team's quality comes from the midfielder Jacob Deever, a returning player from last year's team playing in the attacking midfield who has been a key piece for quite some time now. Deever also leads the scoring tally for the Comets, scoring seven goals and assisting three, including back-to-back braces against Muskingum and Mount Union. Not only are his attributes seen on the scoresheet, but Deever is also the engine for the high press through the center. "We really do trust him to operate in a space of his own…he's a great friend and even better teammate," said coach Kirk.

The Comets also have a great variety of goalscorers outside of Deever, with freshmen winger Nico Voight leveling his goal tally and creating great production. "His impact in the attacking half has been incredible," said Coach Kirk. "We expected what he was capable of, but his production has been a pleasant surprise for us." The senior Devon Hess also makes a great piece up top, both on and off the field, knocking in three goals.

The Comets' midfield, however, is the most vital organ of the team, with Brennan Hesse and Tony Epstein creating flow and serving as the liaisons between the defensive and attacking fronts. Both have great soccer minds, particularly in the defensive side of things, playing almost as double pivots at times in the defensive midfield.

Finally, Capital's back four has stayed largely consistent for much of conference play, with sophomore Jackson Terry and senior Colton Daugherty holding down the fort for much of the entire season. Terry's work has spoken volumes since transferring from Huntington in the NAIA. Since then, Terry is the only player alongside Jacob Deever to start in all 18 matches this year. One of the most notable names Coach Corey Kirk had to talk about however, was senior center back Colton Daugherty. "If you had a team of 30 Colton Daugherty's you would have a really amazing team," he remarked. "He will be greatly missed when he departs this program, and we could not be more proud of what he has accomplished."

Another freshman thrown into the deep end this season, goalkeeper Noah Thomas tied the team turnaround together nicely, being the go-to since the beginning of OAC Conference play. Despite the formidable opponents Thomas has had to endure, he's been an excellent keeper for the Comets, accumulating two shutouts and an incredible 0.851% save percentage. "It's taken some time for him to adapt as it would for any person in his position, but when's been in difficult situations, he always comes out strong," said Coach Kirk.

Your #4 seed John Carroll Blue Streaks

Form
After a rollercoaster ride in the regular season yielding a 12-5-2 record (6-3 OAC), the Blue and Gold are preparing to give the fight of their lives in their last dance in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament, aiming to get the ultimate last laugh hoisting up the trophy. With a difficult recent run of games, their path to glory has been made much more difficult, dropping to the #4 seed and being forced into an extra game and some tremendous performances away from home.

The beginning of non-conference play begged some great results, winning five of their first six games, only marred by a loss in the squad's home opener over Kenyon thanks to a goal conceded in the 83rd minute.

After McCarthy Weekend, the team took a slight decline, drawing an incredible game with Ohio Wesleyan and getting a scoreless draw result in Pennsylvania the following weekend. Coming back to Cleveland the following Wednesday, the squad dropped a 2-0 game against Case Western Reserve. Facing adversity, Wenzler's Warriors rallied back home, taking home a 3-1 victory over Calvin University.

Conference play has been a mixed bag for the Blue Streaks, getting results but perhaps not with the flying colors they may have been planning on for a few matches. Before their 7-0 thrashing of Heidelberg on the 23rd, every Blue Streaks victory in OAC play has only been within one goal, with a loss to Mount Union in Alliance their only true setback before this past week.

The team is coming off of a demoralizing final stretch, dropping a 1-0 loss to Otterbein at Don Shula Stadium, and traveling down to Ada dropping a 3-2 match against #22 Ohio Northern, courtesy of a Colin Gottron hat trick and his final goal with 1:10 on the clock.

A generational conference tournament performance will be needed to secure a National Tournament bid, but the Blue Streaks are certainly up for the challenge.

Meet the Coaching Staff
Athletic Hall of Famer and Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic is finishing up his fourth season as head coach after 15 years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Through his first three seasons, Mladenovic has captured two OAC Tournament Championships, one OAC Regular Season Championship, and three NCAA Tournament berths to complement a 56-20-9 record to date. He was recently inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame last season for his playing career.

Accompanying Mladenovic on the coaching staff are assistant coaches Ante Pilekic (4th year) and Michael Adelman (3rd year), as well as Athletic Trainer and assistant coach Eddie Dobrowolski.

Team Style/Ones to Watch
With a vast pool of personnel and plenty of technicality, the Blue Streaks bring a great combination of team play and individual brilliance to keep opponents on their toes. With a coaching staff packed to the brim with experience and tactical brilliance, the Blue Streaks steer their ship with numerical advantages, an individualistically brilliant front line, a rigid back line, and an energy the Blue Streaks will need to rekindle to keep their hopes alive.

Although Deki's Army holds an abundance of attacking threats, the goal-scoring realm has been more top heavy in recent weeks, shaping out Jaden Wright and Logan Penton as the most notable powers up front, both knocking in six goals each and combining for six assists between the two of them. Both achieve similar qualities in pace, intensity, and spatial awareness, and both have also stepped up big in recent memory.

Penton bagged a hat trick in just seven minutes in a 4-3 win over Wilmington just over one week ago, while Wright was the man that scored the other goal down South, also scoring and assisting against Ohio Northern.

Spark plugs off the bench will force the Comets to keep tabs at all time, with fifth year Patrick Koenig and freshmen Dylan Halm off the bench with five goals each as well. Fifth year Hayden Haffner has also moved back up to the wings in recent weeks, with three goals and two assists to date and great chemistry with his fifth-year counterparts up front.

The center of the park has become more specialized as the season has progressed, but the heart and soul has always been the senior Nicholas Graeca. Graeca's impact has been seen both on and off the pitch this season, with his impact on the offensive and defensive sides being quite evident. From his "Energizer Bunny" role with the team to his newfound sense of composure, his intangibles truly set him over the rest of the OAC.

Sophomore Luka Pranjeta has taken over the attacking reins in the midfield after starting on the wing, and has been a tremendous help. His direct aggression to move the ball up top and great anticipation makes for a well-rounded player to fill the role, most recently assisting two of Logan Penton's three goals against Wilmington.

Other midfielders in the center of the park such as Andrew Ruggiero, Guilherme Wanderley, and Logan Brown have all made their impacts respectively, with Ruggiero taking priority in recent memory in the defensive midfield.

The finest part of this Blue Streak team, however, is in their back line, who despite trials and tribulations and plenty of personnel exchanges, have prevailed through some tough circumstances. The likes of Nathan Monastra, Daniel Kalic, and Izac Coleman have all been the consistent faces, the team conceding just 16 goals in 19 affairs. The goalkeeper Brenden Moher ties the back line altogether, being the booming voice in the back that guides the team towards triumph.

Matchup History
As it stands, the Blue Streaks hold a record of 32-9-2 against the Comets in all competitions. Last year's season yielded two very entertaining games against the two sides. During the regular season, the Comets made the trip up to University Heights on senior night to hand John Carroll a humiliating 3-1 loss to the Blue Streaks on Senior Night.

In the postseason, the 4-seeded Blue Streaks clashed once again against the 5-seeded Comets at home. After a goal in the dying embers of the first half, the Blue Streaks had 45 minutes to save their season. Five minutes into the second half, Brenden Swann would score a marvelous free kick from distance to level the game. After a scoreless remainder of regulation, it was time for overtime.

After an uneventful 19 minutes, the Blue Streaks rallied for a final attack. A promising buildup and a shot from seven yards out was blocked by Ethan Ogden. With a corner whipped in, Steven Samuelson scores off a header with 19 seconds left on the clock and John Carroll advances in dramatic fashion.

This year's regular season match also created plenty of drama. Patrick Koenig scored the opening goal in the 32nd minute. In the early stages of the second half, sophomore defender Jackson Terry brough the game level. After a neck-and-neck contest to follow, Dylan Halm would ultimately score the winner in the 70th minute to give the Blue Streaks a win.

In the grand scheme of things, here are some historical facts about the matchup:

Last year's regular season matchup was Capital's first win over the Blue Streaks on John Carroll grounds since 2015
In the last six games, John Carroll has outscored the Comets 16-7
The Blue Streaks defeated the Comets in each of their matchups from 1990-2005, including a whopping 14-0 victory back in 1996
The Comets have not scored back-to-back regular season victories over John Carroll since games in 2008-2009
John Carroll holds a 20-4-2 home record against the Comets

Up Next
The winner of the this game with play one of the teams on a first-round bye in the OAC Semifinals on Thursday away from their respective home venues, with their possibilities either being the University of Mount Union or #22 Ohio Northern University.

Results will also be dependent on the other OAC quarterfinal matchup, #3 Otterbein at home hosting #6 Wilmington College.

Where to Follow
Coverage of today's match will be available on @jcusports and @jcumenssoccer accounts on X, Instagram, and Facebook. The stream for the match will be located on jcusports.com and OAC TV.

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