And then there were two.
John Carroll (14-4-1), the #3 seed led by coach
Hector Marinaro, will face #1 seed Ohio Northern (17-4) in the 2015 Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Tournament championship match on Saturday, November 7, at 7:00 p.m. in Ada, Ohio.
Live stats and live video links can be found by clicking hereFor the fourth time in five years, it will be the Polar Bears and Blue Streaks matching up for the title tilt. Ohio Northern won the matches contested in 2011, 2012 and 2013. JCU is 3-5 all-time against the Polar Bears in OAC postseason play.
John Carroll won its titles in 2000, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Two of the Blue Streaks titles (2000 and 2007) were won as the #3 seed.
The two most dominant teams in the OAC since the tournament era began in 1992, either John Carroll or Ohio Northern has played the OAC Championship title match in all but three years -- 1995 (Hiram vs. Heidelberg), 1999 (Otterbein vs. Heidelberg) and 2001 (Otterbein vs Wilmington). Every other final has featured either the Polar Bears or the Blue Streaks, and on three occasions, both teams were in.
In the regular season match-up, Ohio Northern defeated John Carroll, 2-1 in Ada on October 3. Two quick goals in the opening minutes of the second period were all the host Polar Bears needed, surviving massive pressure over the final 40 minutes to down the Blue Streaks.Â
Eric Rozsits scored in the 65th minute off a feed fromÂ
Dalton Browsky, but JCU could not find the equalizer over the remainder of regulation. ONU held the slight edge in shots (14-13).
John Carroll is appearing in its fifth consecutive OAC Tournament championship match. This is John Carroll's 16th appearance in a title match in the 24-year history of the OAC Tournament -- a league record.