Liam McIntosh dove to his right, swatting the kick away. Bedlam ensued, as fans rushed the field at Don Shula Stadium.

The sixth time was finally the charm.

The John Carroll men's soccer team shed their postseason demons with a victory in penalty kicks in the OAC Tournament Championship on Saturday night.

It took 110 minutes and then some to decide the winner, but JCU takes their first tournament championship and title sweep since 2005. It breaks a string of five consecutive losses in the final OAC match. John Carroll (12-5-3) advances to the NCAA Tournament for the sixth time, and the first time since 2007.

Head coach Hector Marinaro reflected on the victory following the celebration. "I'm just elated for these kids, they deserve to play in front of a crowd like that and to raise the trophy," said Marinaro. "Having all of our alumni on the field with us is beautiful."

The Blue Streaks came out flying to open the game, recording two shots in the first three minutes but were unable to capitalize. John Carroll controlled possession early and they broke the scoring drought in the 14th minute when a Jake Lombardo pass to Hayden Parente set up a Jesse Marinaro goal to give the Blue Streaks a 1-0 lead.

JCU extended the lead to two when Hayden Parente bent the ball into the back of the net on a corner kick in the 25th minute. But the Polar Bears quickly answered as Nathan Libertowski found the back of the net just three minutes later. After even play back and forth, Ohio Northern tied the game at two in the 37th minute when senior Dustin Lorenzo picked the top left corner on a free kick from 27 yards out. This would be the last of the scoring as both teams went to the locker room knotted up at two.

The second half opened up with great scoring chances for both teams, but neither were able to break the scoring tie. Tremendous defense for both teams and great saves from both Liam McIntosh and Dean McNeil kept the score tied heading into the final 20 minutes of regulation.  Then the chances started adding up.  McIntosh made three exceptional saves for the Blue Streaks to keep ONU from scoring the go ahead goal but a critical save went to McNeil, who stonewalled Jesse Marinaro on a blast from 20 yards away with less than five minutes remaining.  Regulation ended with the score still tied and the game headed to extra time.

Both extra time periods yielded chances, but neither team struck and the squads headed to penalty kicks.

The Polar Bears shot first and Matt Kinkopf found the back of the net to give Ohio Northern a 1-0 lead. But goals from Jesse Marinaro and Jake Lombardo along with a second round save from McIntosh gave John Carroll the lead for good. McIntosh's second save set off the fireworks in University Heights.

"It's so incredible to play this match at home and to get it done at home," said Hector Marinaro.

The John Carroll Blue Streaks will play next weekend in the NCAA Tournament, with an opponent and site yet to be decided.