A hard-fought battle resulted in the John Carroll Men’s Soccer team walking into the locker room with three points and their first win of the season.
The Blue Streaks are now off to a good start for the season with a narrow 2-1 win over Oberlin. On Sept. 1, the evening air remained cool, setting the scene for a late-night matchup for John Carroll. The Blue and Gold hosted Oberlin, a non-conference juggernaut that guarantees good competition.
John Carroll came out with intensity, keeping the majority of possession and getting some early looks on the net. Logan Penton ‘25 and Jaden Wright ‘25 tallied some early shots but unfortunately weren’t able to find the back of the net. Izac Coleman ‘24 was the next player to generate some commotion for the Blue Streaks. In the 30th minute, Coleman caused a mix-up in the box which ended with a shot from Nicholas Graeca ‘25. The strike ricocheted off of an Oberlin defenseman’s hand, resulting in a John Carroll penalty kick. Patrick Koenig ‘24 stepped up to the plate, burying the kick into the low left corner.
Brendan Moher ‘26 stood strong in the net for his team, coming up with pivotal saves to keep the Blue Streaks ahead. Moher’s presence in the net allowed the Blue Streaks to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead.
At the half, it was clear that both squads were eager to keep up the intensity for the second portion of play. Both the Blue and Gold and the Yeomen played stellar defense, keeping shots out of reach for both squads. It wasn’t until the 88th minute when John Carroll grabbed an insurance goal from Hayden Haffner ‘24. Brendan Swann (Graduate Student) would be credited with the assistance.
Haffner’s goal ended up being crucial, as the Yeoman would tally their own goal with just five seconds left on the clock. With no time to go, the score would stand at 2-1 in favor of the Blue Streaks.
“I don’t think we could’ve asked for a better night to kick start our season,” mentioned Captain Nicholas Ruggerio (Graduate Student).
“We knew Oberlin was going to be a tough game and that they were looking for revenge after last season.”
Conceding a goal late in the second half wasn’t the way we wanted to end the night off but the most important thing was that we were able to walk away with a win and three points to start the season,” finished Ruggiero.
The Blue Streaks went on to face the No. 5 Kenyon Owls in a huge regional matchup on Sunday, Sept. 3 in Gambier, Ohio. John Carroll boarded the bus home with a significant 4-0 win. Goals came from Haffner, Wright, Graeca, and Jack Foht ‘25, increasing their record t to 2-0 for the season thus far.
“We want to win every game we play this year and come home with the OAC double,” summarized Ruggiero.
“We know that we need to take this season one game at a time and one day at a time and that’s what we plan to do.”
The Blue Streaks are concentrated on improving their record to 3-0 in their next game against Carnegie Mellon Kickoff will be Thurs., Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Pittsburgh, PA.