Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
JCU MSOC (Brandeis Recap Photo)
Gavin Hunter
A Hard Fought Game Drops the Blue Streaks to 0.500
0
John Carroll JCU (4-4-2, 0-0-0)
1
Winner Brandeis DEIS (7-0-2, 0-0-0)
John Carroll JCU
(4-4-2, 0-0-0)
0
Final
1
Brandeis DEIS
(7-0-2, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Carroll JCU 0 0 0
Brandeis DEIS 0 1 1

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

Late Goal Sinks Blue Streak Efforts in Boston

WALTHAM, MA – Entering the final stages of out-of-conference play, the John Carroll Men's Soccer team traveled up north for a McCarthy Weekend battle, with their second consecutive nationally-ranked opponent in #18 Brandeis University. 

Coming off of a strong performance in a scoreless draw against Case on Wednesday, the team once again had work cut out for them in an undefeated side, now traveling all the way up to Boston in a tiring ordeal the day prior.

Things looked up for the Blue Streaks—a great showing on Wednesday and the likes of Rafa De La Barrera, Harley Forkins, and Luka Pranjeta being phased back into the team were all great signs moving forward.

Despite a valiant effort, a late goal from the Judges was the ultimate decider as John Carroll would unfortunately fall in heartbreaking fashion, now looking on for their last non-conference outing on Wednesday.

"This is one of the best teams in the country…all I want you to care about is showing them how hungry you are. Every ounce of energy you have goes into today," remarked Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic to his team before the game.

Sunny skies, and two very loud benches made for some scenery as the opening whistle blew.

The beginning of the match set the expectations for the rest of the match, with possession draws generally even and both teams struggling to break each other down.

Ten minutes in, John Carroll hit their first roadblock of the outing, as starting center back Noah Schmidt went down with an injury just ten minutes in after successfully breaking down a counter attack. As John Carroll adjusted, the Judges began to find some creaks and crevices to exploit.

In the 14th minute, Brandeis began to break through, getting a shot off after a slight miscommunication that John Carroll's coaching staff and bench were quick to harp on. A few minutes later, a giveaway from the back made way for a shot from Keller Chamovitz. Although it was a routine save for Szucs, it was clear the Judges began to grow more comfortable. Another quick chance not even a minute later saw a turn and shot from Elan Romo impressively blocked by sophomore fullback Louis Roseberry.

Brandeis continued to be methodical in their buildups, while John Carroll was quick to thwart many, but just needed to ground themselves in the match a little bit more. Intensity picked up, and a few more chances were in the near future.

About ten minutes later, another scary chance came from the Judges, with a shot at the front post from Elan Romo once again, forcing another save from the freshmen keeper Owen Szucs.

Another scary sight just a few minutes later hitting, as Brandeis' Langston Byrd won a footrace over Maurio Powell and tried a cheeky chip over a rushing own Szucs from 20 yards out, his effort just heading over the crossbar.

The turning point for the Blue Streaks came with Harley Forkins checking in with around 15 minutes left. After sustaining an injury after the match against Bethany early on, the Blue Streaks have missed his tenacious presence.

A few minutes after coming on, the Mentor-native ripped a low driven shot from the top of the box, Brandeis goalkeeper Tyler Correnti. At the end of the day, John Carroll's sole shot on goal.

Some end-to-end pressure continued as Deki's Army began leveling the play field, and after an onslaught of service into the box in the last 90 seconds, John Carroll held strong and went into the half with a scoreless draw on their hands.

Coming out of the second half, the Blue Streaks seemed more energized than their opponents, spending a good majority of the beginning of the half in their opponents half of the field and controlling their possession better than before. Slowly but surely, momentum was shifting towards John Carroll.

Despite the clear shift in that regard, neither team really had a proper look at goal until the 61st minute, where Keller Chamovitz's shot traveled over the frame of goal.

Finally, Brandeis' moment came in the 85th minute of play. On the right hand side of the pitch, the Judges' Slater Loffredo laid a ball off for Juan Vera. With some quality ball control and a few deflections working in his favor, Vera navigated his way into the 18-yard box and slotted it home past the keeper.

The last five minutes were desperate for the Blue Streaks, but they could not find their level and in crushing fashion, the Blue Streaks failed to secure any points far away from home.

Despite the nature of the loss and the anger across the team, Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic seemed optimistic about the team's direction as he addressed them in the postgame. "I hate losing more than I love winning, but I want you guys to know how proud I am of how you played today," he said. "These growing pains are going to come with a team like us…but what I've seen the last two games is night and day to what I've seen before."

Next Up:
The Blue Streaks will face off against the University of Mount Union on Wednesday, October 1 at 7:05pm at Don Shula Stadium. Catch the action live on Rock Entertainment Sports Network.
Print Friendly Version

Sponsors