The designated purpose of the Ohio Athletic Conference postseason men's soccer tournament is to determine which team earns the league's automatic qualifying berth into the NCAA Division III Championship.

The last two teams vying for the OAC's "AQ" meet Saturday night at Don Shula Stadium.

Live video and live stats will be available to follow the match.

One of those teams hails from John Carroll, and the Blue Streaks have made quite a habit of qualifying for the playoffs. There have been 23 OAC tournaments since the postseason format was instituted in 1992, and John Carroll has qualified for 22 of them. Of the 23 OAC Tournament championship matches, including tonight, the Blue Streaks have been a participant in 14 of them.
 
It has been, however, since 2007 that the Blue Streaks have won a postseason title, and since 2005 that JCU has played at home from a shot at the "AQ". There is certainly motivation for the Blue & Gold.

The Heidelberg Student Princes will have plenty of motivation as well. The visiting team tonight is making its 16th appearance in the OAC Tournament -- second in the league only to John Carroll. Unlike the Blue Streaks, who have won titles in 1993, 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2007, the Student Princes have been tantalizingly close but have never hoisted the trophy. Heidelberg was a finalist in 1995 (lost in two overtimes to Hiram), 1999 and 2010 (regular season champions, lost in two overtimes to Ohio Northern).    

These two teams met in Tiffin during the regular season, with John Carroll prevailing by a 2-1 score on a cold and windy afternoon in mid-October. Justin Miller scored both goals for JCU on assists from Brian Potocnik, while Heidelberg's tally was produced by Alexis Mendoza on a feed from Andres Isea.
    
Potocnik has been the centerpiece of the John Carroll offense, leading the team and the league with 20 goals and 14 assists. The Blue Streak defense is anchored by seniors Matt Brodman, Trent Guy, and Liam Switalski Potocnik scored both goals in JCU's 2-1 semifinal round victory over Capital Wednesday.
    
Heidelberg relies on 2013 OAC Midfielder of the Year Hamid Shariff as its cornerstone. He leads the 'Berg in assists with nine, and his six goals are second only to Mendoza (10) on the roster The Student Princes will be riding an additional wave of momentum as they rallied from a 3-0 halftime deficit to beat Baldwin Wallace, 4-3, in two overtimes in their semifinal. 
  
This will be the 35th all-time meeting between the two teams, with John Carroll owning a 22-7-5 advantage. The teams have met on eight previous occasions in the OAC Tournament. John Carroll has won four times, Heidelberg twice (including the most recent playoff clash in 2010), and twice the match has gone to penalty kicks (Heidelberg advanced 4-3 in 1995, JCU advanced 5-4 in 1996).
    
General admission tickets will be $7 for the contest, but a valid OAC student ID guarantees admission free of charge. Admission is $2 for anyone 18 and under, and tickets for seniors are $5.