Box Score Friday the 13th proved to be no problem for the John Carroll University men's soccer team as it snapped its three-game skid against Hiram College with a 3-2 win.
 
Late game heroics was the case as Nathan Sharbaugh scored the game winning goal in a closely contested 3-2 match in the 79th minute. Sharbaugh found the back of the net on a rebound after Shaq Bridges initial strike.

"We missed him the first couple of games," said head coach Hector Marinaro. "He's come back and given us a spark. He's scored in both games he's played in now. He's a senior, a veteran, he's got finesse. He's a great little player and we are glad he is back playing with us."
 
Coming off a heart-breaking double overtime loss, the John Carroll men's soccer team applied immediate offensive pressure and was rewarded within the first thirty seconds of game play; nineteen seconds off the Division III NCAA fastest goal in a game record, set in 1992. Mariusz Trzeciak scored on a called penalty kick to give the Blue Streaks an early 1-0 advantage.

"We asked the guys to start the game with a lot of pressure and a good attitude," said Marinaro. "To get a penalty kick in the first minute because of our pressure as a coach, you can't ask for much more."
 
John Carroll would register five more shots before Michael Melfi added another goal to the Blue Streak lead at the 33:25 mark from a Sharbaugh centering pass. Shortly after, Brian Potocnik would find the crossbar, unable to tally the third goal of the night. 
 
Not to be counted out, the Terrier's Andres Ruiz answered with a volley that found the back of the net eight minutes before halftime. The John Carroll junior defensive tandem of Liam Switalski and Kyle Wisniewski kept Hiram College from equalizing the game before halftime.
 
The second half began with a barrage of Blue Streak shots on net, but it was a Terrier strike that opened the scoring. Zaire Morrison scored the tying goal assisted by Ryan Kramarz's pass.
 
The game proved physical with 30 called fouls between the two teams in addition to sharing five yellow cards.  

"It's a good rivalry," said Marinaro. "They've beat us the last three times. We talked about that and we wanted to make sure they didn't come into our house and win. The guys were fired up. Both teams were battling hard and wanted to win. That's part of the game and it was a lot of fun."

The Blue Streaks enter game two of a three game home stand on Wednesday, Sept. 18th versus The College of Wooster at 4 p.m.