John Carroll was down 8-6 and had just allowed three consecutive goals heading into the final 14 minutes of play Wednesday evening against Albion at Don Shula Stadium.

But down was not out.

Ultimately, the Blue Streaks would rally behind the offensive power of two sophomores and gritty defense, and would emerge victorious by a 10-9 count.

In the first quarter, Albion struck first, opening up the scoring almost 10 minutes into the match.  In the final four minutes, Skyler Blake, Brendan Whitty, and Kevin Hack slammed home scores past Briton's Josh Luketic, closing out the first quarter with a comfortable 3-1 lead.  

Albion refused to concede however, completely turning the tables in the second quarter.  While John Carroll led the shots battle 15-6 in the first quarter, Albion churned out 16 shots to JCU's six in the second quarter of play.  The Britons tied up the match by the seven minute mark of the second.

JCU refused to relinquish the lead as Kevin Hack fired across the field, edging the ball past the keeper's near side post to give John Carroll a temporary 4-3 lead.  The score held through six minutes of excellent shooting matched by even greater defense, as evident of Jacob Betz's seven saves in the first half. He would finish with 13.  

However, in the waning seconds of the half, Albion's Jace Conley poked in a close range attempt past Betz with just 22 ticks remaining to even the score at four heading into the half.

Across the board, the two programs were evenly matched and playing a physical yet fair game.  Both teams garnered two total penalties, 43 total shots, three caused turnovers, and 15 total turnovers. John Carroll was immaculate in clears, converting each of their 11 attempts and held a 6-4 lead in faceoffs.

Everything spelled an exciting second half of action, and the two teams did not disappoint.

Blake returned the lead to the Blue Streaks when he circled around from behind the Albion keeper and got a quick pass from Bennett Gorman to fire an over-the-shoulder near post screamer into the back of the net.  

The shot, which seemed to go through the tightest of spaces, would earn Blake his 100th career goal in awe-striking fashion.  He becomes just the second player in program history achieve that milestone, following the legendary Declan O'Grady who scored 174 goals from 2014-17.

Albion refused to let the spotlight dwell on the Blue Streaks for long, evening the tally at five less than a minute later.

History repeated itself later in the third quarter when Albion tied the game again after Logan Collins scored his second goal of the night off a dime from Ian Flynn.  

In the closing minute of the third, Betz overthrew an outlet pass, resulting in a Briton breakaway and quick score to give them their first lead since the first quarter, heading into the final 15 minutes with a 7-6 lead.

When Albion took a two-goal lead 38 seconds into the fourth quarter, the largest lead from any team the entire game, all the momentum seemed to be with the visitors.

Then the sophomores showed up. 

In their second connection of the night, Hack, from the X position, lobbed a pass to classmate and teammate Collins at the top of the fan, setting up an absolute rocket of shot to bring the Blue Streaks within one.

Not long after that, Collins reached into his hat of tricks, completing his third goal of the game off an assist from Clayton Karam.  It was an offensive bonus to a defensive night for Karam. who tallied five ground balls and caused four Briton turnovers in the contest.

Eight minutes remaining.

Before Collins could get the crowd excited, Briton dampened the excitement with yet another quick response, scoring not two minutes later.

Six minutes left.

Amping up the intensity,  Whitty found a cutting Hack in the middle.  Hack double pumped and fired a close range slammer in quick succession, tying the game at nine goals apiece.  

Four minutes left.

Two minutes.

90 Seconds.

With fans at the edge of their seats, Collins, off a cross field pass, fired another long range snipe into the back of the net to give John Carroll the lead 79 seconds from the end of regulation.

After calling two timeouts and offering a last second chance on net, Betz warded off the danger with help from Robert Dansbury, who picked up the loose ball following the shot, and Blake was able to run out the clock for John Carroll's third home victory of the 2019 season.

Collins walked away with a career high five points and career-tying four goals, while Hack tied his three goal best and set a new precedent of four points in the contest.

The JCU defense stepped up big in the final 14 minutes, allowing just the one goal. Karam, Evan Schneeberger, Charles Shaver and Robbie Robinson all had a caused turnover, and Betz collected four saves down the stretch.

The Blue Streaks improved to 3-2 while Albion slipped to 1-4.

John Carroll will journey to Michigan this Saturday to take on Alma College at 2:00 p.m.