A slow start has progressed to a full stride for John Carroll University.
 
On a gorgeous fall night at Don Shula stadium, the Blue Streaks hosted Heidelberg in JCU's second Ohio Athletic Conference meeting of the year.  Despite a strong defensive standoff in the opening half, the Streaks burst open in the second, firing off three goals in 10 minutes, bettering John Carroll University's overall record to 5-5-1 and 2-0 in the OAC.
 
Back and forth action dominated the first half of play.  John Carroll's strong defensive and offensive play kept the ball in the Berg's half of the pitch for majority of the first 45 minutes.  Each side had a couple of set pieces that proved fruitless, both defensive squads refusing to yield to the opposing offense.
 
Those set pieces were due to aggressive play from both the Berg and JCU, as they accumulated 12 fouls in the first half alone.
 
Both keepers had strong performances in the first half.  JCU's Liam McIntosh faced seven balls, three of which he was forced to act on.  Meanwhile, the Student Prince's Kress watched two JCU balls and defended one.
 
Both defenses held strong, fending off the offensive attacks and keeping the score level at zero.
 
After a first half stand-off, the Blue Streaks opened the floodgates in the second portion of the contest.
 
The Blue Streaks had a close call 10 minutes into the half, when a header was put past a diving McIntosh, but the Berg were called offsides, bringing back the score.  Less than a minute later, Heidelberg University's goalkeeper Jake Kress picked up a red card after accumulating two yellows, forcing the Student Prince's to play with ten men. 
 
Not longer than five minutes later, the Blue Streaks applied pressure, working their way deep into the Berg's zone.  Tim Delaney worked the near side of the pitch and placed a beautiful ground cross to freshman Hayden Parente, who slammed home the first goal of the contest from five yards out. 
 
Parent's strike was the first home goal for the Blue Streaks this season.
 
About two minutes passed before John Carroll fired another scoring strike.  Jake Lombardo took the initial strike, which was deflected by the keeper, Archambeau, but the ball took a fortunate bounce back to Jesse Marinaro, who slammed home the second score for JCU.
 
The Streaks were not finished, however, and received a fortunate bounce when an attempted Heidelberg clear ricocheted off Lombardo and sailed between the Heidelberg posts. 
 
McIntosh had to hold his ground for the final 20 minutes, confronting three more Berg scoring opportunities while watching one sail by, but Lombardo's goal proved to be the final tally of the game.
 
The JCU squad had been held scoreless in their last three non-OAC battles, but have gathered six total goals in their past two OAC outings. 
 
McIntosh also marked this as his fourth clean sheet of the season.