Sam Herr

Men’s Soccer Match Preview: John Carroll University vs. #19 Kenyon College

8/31/2024 7:56:00 PM | By: Gianluca DiGiacomo, Staff Writer

A Quick Turnaround for Both Teams Presents a New Challenge for the Home Opener

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – A chaotic holiday weekend all across Division III soccer hits its stride at John Carroll tomorrow afternoon, with the John Carroll Blue Streaks getting set to go toe-to-toe with another one of the nation's finest programs in nationally-ranked #19 Kenyon College.

From Wasmer Field at Don Shula Stadium, JCU yearns to avoid a massive halt in their momentum picked up just yesterday evening, while the Owls look to maximize their trip up north and redeem themselves from a tough defeat on their home turf last season.

Meet the Opposition: Kenyon College Owls

Form
The Owls move into this season very hungry to continue their run of vast dominance over the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) for quite some time now. The squad prides itself on tough out-of-conference competition and a well-rounded, technical style of play that has given them eight consecutive NCAC Regular Season Championships.

Despite this, however, the team is looking for their first tournament championship win since a 2-1 win over Ohio Wesleyan all the way back in 2019. In recent memory, the team has lost three consecutive NCAC tournament championships, despite not dropping a single conference game during this time in the regular season.

From a national tournament perspective, Kenyon College hopes to keep their streak of appearances alive since the 2013 season.

The team is recovering quickly after quite the battle with #15 Ohio Northern on Friday, beating the Polar Bears, 3-2, in a closely-contested game.

Meet the Coaching Staff
Kenyon Men's Soccer Head Coach Travis Wall enters his second season with the Owls, having an extremely successful 16-4-1 season last year with a run in the NCAA Tournament. Wall comes from another top-ranked national team in St. Olaf where he spearheaded an incredible turnaround of the program, transforming a team from a 4-13-1 record to back-to-back Sweet 16 trips. He finished his time in Minnesota with a cumulative 43-18-3 record (.695%) and a 22-7-1 record in-conference (.750).

Before then, Wall also spent time coaching at his alma mater Ohio Wesleyan under the great Jay Martin. As a player for the Battling Bishops, Wall won the national championship in 2011, took home a NSCAA National Player of the Year award, was a two-time First Team All-American selection, and is an Ohio Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Famer. He also played two years of professional soccer in the NASL with Minnesota United FC in 2012 and 2013.

Coach Wall truly emphasizes growing relationships with his players above all else. "Strong personal relationships and hoping this allows us to push through a higher ceiling…I think there is a close connection between the two," he said. "Getting through the harder days is rooted in a personal desire to see people get better, rather than just winning the game."

Now that he is properly settled into things in Gambier, Wall aims to continue a long-running deal of success with the program with Assistant Coach Nick Taljan and Goalkeeping Coach Andy Brinkman.

Team Style/Ones to Watch
Settling into a new team with 15 new faces on the roster, the coaching staff prioritizes one thing through it all: balance.

"The name of the game at the college level is balance," remarked Coach Wall. "Being able to build out of the back, being dominant and possession, counter attacks, set pieces, it all needs to be balanced." The team is dynamic in their structure when matching up to different schemes and personnel, and formations and players are subject to change.

Two primary returners for the scoresheet this year include the likes of Alem Duratovic and Eamon Dujakovich, a dynamic duo that has been lethal in attack for the last two seasons most notably. Duratovic and Dujakovich combined for 23 goals and 7 assists last season, while in 2022 Duratovic scored 18 goals and Dujakovich scored three goals and assisted three more despite being behind a handful of senior and fifth-year talent.
Continuing the trend of attacking talent, senior Gerardo Martinez looks to have a big year after an injury-ridden 2023 season. A key piece for any team, Martinez brings a bout to creativity and innovation in the attacking midfield and up front. "When he rejoined the team later last year, pretty quickly we realized he was one of the most important players on this team. A takes a special guy to have that level of impact."

Experience in the back with the likes of Jack Pedreschi and Division I transfer Matt Nguyen hold down the fort against some high-quality attacking talent, including in their season opener against Ohio Northern.

Incoming freshmen are also bound to make some impressions, as first-year midfielder Andrew Adams has made a massive impact in the opening weeks of the season, as well as a pacy, silky-smooth winger like Hamza Kromah to keep defenders guessing.

Your John Carroll Blue Streaks

Form
The Blue Streaks are entering the season with high expectations as they made the cut for receiving votes within the national polls. A lot is at stake for the program this season—the team looks to continue an NCAA Tournament appearance streak dating back to 2016. From an external standpoint, the team celebrates their 60th season and will hang up the boots in Ohio Athletic Conference play at the conclusion of the season.

On their side of the turnaround, the Blue Streaks traveled to Oberlin and won with a stellar 2-0 deficit to keep their undefeated streak against the Yeomen dating back to 1988. The game saw great performance all-around, with some young blood getting massive recognition with Dylan Halm and Nicholas Mikulec putting

Meet the Coaching Staff
Athletic Hall of Famer and Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic takes on 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 45-15-7 record. He was inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame last season for both his playing and coaching careers.

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

Team Style/Players to Watch
With a balance of veterans and upcoming talent, the Blue Streaks enter this year with an incredible roster of players. Similar to Oberlin, Wenzler's Warriors play an intense, quick-tempoed game with intense press, linkup play, and an innovative front line replete with speed, technicality, and chemistry.

The leadership of the squad is matched equally with talent this year, and for the first time in program history captaincy will be split between graduate student fullback Izac Coleman and senior midfielder Nicholas Graeca.

Coleman comes into this season winning All-Conference honors for each season as a Blue Streak alongside Freshmen of the Year honors in 2021, All-Region, All-State, and Third Team All-American status during his 2022 season. Coleman's leadership and versatility on the left hand flank makes him one to watch in his final season.

Graeca on the other hand has also gotten his hands on a fair share of awards, including two All-OAC honors and All-Ohio honors. Graeca is known largely as the engine of the squad; never seeming to run out of energy not only physically, but also in his leadership and charisma on the pitch. Graeca looks to build off of his eight goals and ten assists throughout the last two seasons.

One of the many impressive feats of this team also includes a backline with tremendous depth. This season's star-studded forward infantry is bound to compose a symphony of destruction with names such as Jaden Wright, Logan Penton, Jack Foht, and Patrick Koenig running the pockets of center backs across the country. Household names combined with players such as Luka Pranjeta, Andrew Massucci, and high-school All-American freshmen Dylan Halm coming off the bench ought to be excruciating, scoring the first goal of the season in his collegiate debut.

Names across the back do not ease up for opposition, either, with accomplished seniors Daniel Kalic, Steven Samuelson, and graduate student Cade Gergye with Brenden Moher in between the sticks keeps things nice and organized.

Matchup History
The John Carroll Blue Streaks are 11-10-0 in all competitions against Kenyon College. Each game these two teams step up to the plate brings an intense, nail-biting ordeal, and this season should be no different. The last two years have seen both teams defeat another away from home.

In 2022, the Owls took down the Blue Streaks at Don Shula Stadium with a 2-1 scoreline, including drawing a penalty and converting within the first two seconds.

Last year, the Blue Streaks defeated the #5 Owls in a shocking 4-0 victory, something that Kenyon has been looking to redeem themselves for for the last year.

Here are some other quick facts:

The Blue Streaks have won 8 of the last 10 meetings between the two teams since 1999
Last two matches have been exchanged wins at the opponent's home turf
The Blue Streaks have won 3 of the last 5 meetings against the Owls
The Owls had a notable six consecutive wins over the Blue Streaks from 1988-1996
Most goals scored by JCU: 4 (2023), Kenyon: 4 (1990, 2018)
Most total goals in a match: 5 (3-2 JCU win in 2019)

Up Next
Both teams will have a slightly longer recovery time before competing later this week:

The Blue Streaks will be back at Don Shula Stadium to take on Carnegie Mellon on Thursday, who they beat last season for the first time since 2003. Kickoff is set for 7 pm.

On the other hand, the Owls travel to Baltimore on Friday to face off against #24 Johns Hopkins University with a 7 pm appointment. This will be their third consecutive nationally-renowned opponent.

Where to Follow
The Blue Streaks' home opener will be broadcasted on jcusports.com and OAC TV, with social media coverage coming on Twitter and Instagram from @jcusports and @jcumenssoccer.

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