On a rainy and cold October afternoon in University Heights, John Carroll's offense had no problem heating up early and often as they easily defeated the Marietta Pioneers, 5-1.
Box Score
Four players scored a 2010 game-high five goals as the Blue Streaks glided on the wet field turf to their second straight conference win and third overall. John Carroll improves its overall record to 8-4, 2-0 in the OAC.
It didn't take the Blue Streaks long to get things rolling. Senior forward and captain
Jeff Kosek crossed over a defender in the upper left corner of the box before striking home his team leading 8th goal of the season in the 11th minute to put John Carroll on top 1-0.
The Blue Streaks pressured the Pioneer defense from the start and were able to capitalize again in the 34th minute. This time, Kosek's pass led Corey Rider all the way to the end-line. After beating the goalie and spinning around a defender, Rider put home his second goal of the season from a near impossible angle to give John Carroll a 2-0 advantage.
With a 2-0 halftime lead, John Carroll looked in complete control against a winless, but feisty Marietta squad.
The Blue Streaks struck quickly in the second half. In the 51st minute, Andrew Fatigatti centered a ball that landed right at the feet of
David Hickey. Hickey pounded the ball into the back of the net to increase the lead to 3-0 on his second goal of the year.
A mere two minutes later,
Jerry Rubino led Kosek in perfect stride up the right sideline with only one defender to beat. Kosek's quick crossover and shot caught Marietta keeper Chris Stollar off guard, and the senior put home his second goal of the game and his ninth of the year.
“I'm really happy with the work that the guys are putting in,” said Kosek after the game. “We come to practice each day to get better and it's nice to have teammates that challenge and push each other.”
The Blue Streaks lost the shutout in the 58th minute, when junior midfielder Dustin Zimmerman came up with a mishandled ball in the top left corner of the box. Zimmerman found an opening, and his shot ricocheted off the left post and into the back of the net to trim the JCU lead to 4-1.
But John Carroll answered in the 82nd minute with an 18 yard strike in the lower left corner of the net from Michael Zummerling, whose first goal of the season was assisted by
Nicholas Durkin.
While pleased with the win, Head Coach
Hector Marinaro knows that his team has to continue to work hard.
“It would have been nice to get a shutout, but we'll take the three points and the conference win,” said Marinaro. “I was happy to see the guys who were worked into the game play aggressively. It's good to see them fight for more playing time.”
John Carroll outshot Marietta, 28-4, on the match. In two conference games this season, John Carroll has outscored their opponents 7-1.
“Our goal is to win every game convincingly,” Kosek continued. “We take it all one game at a time, but we know that the second half of our schedule is going to be more challenging. We are certainly moving in the right direction.”
John Carroll will travel to Wilmington on Saturday for a 7:00 PM match. “Wilmington has usually been a pretty tough place to play,” said Marinaro. “One goal victories the last two years, including an overtime win last season, has proven that. We will definitely be looking for another team effort on Saturday.”
