On a sunny yet chilly Saturday afternoon in University Heights, the John Carroll Blue Streaks remained undefeated in home openers in its five-year existence by knocking off the visiting the Tigers of Wittenberg, 17-9.  

Scoring nine goals in the first 16 minutes to jump out to a 9-0 lead got John Carroll the start they needed. Once the game evened out, Wittenberg never got closer than six goals the rest of the way.

Within the first 2:15 of the match, Brittany Prichard, Jill Jarem, and Alexis Guage netted shots for the Blue & Gold, and that was only the beginning. 

With 18:49 remaining in the first half, Colleen Grombala sunk a beautiful free position shot, increasing JCU's lead to 4-0 and forcing a Wittenberg timeout.  The goal was Grombala's 100th of her career, making her the fourth player in program history to hit that milestone. She joins Gina Vilsack (240, 2015-18), Grace Curatolo (192, 2015-18) and Meghan Harte (155, 2015-18) in that elite company.

Guage popped in two more goals, earning herself a hat trick in less than 15 minutes of action.  After Alex Heishman slammed home a free position shot from two feet away, Grombala added two more to her tally, garnering herself a hat trick with 13:44 remaining in the first half of play.

All the while the JCU offense was dominating, perhaps even more impressive was the defensive effort. It took over 23 minutes for Wittenberg to get on the scoreboard. The Tigers finally broke through at the 6:59 mark when Gabby Zysik got a short range attempt past Elyssa Zablo.  Up until that point, Zablo had snagged five saves on the eight shots she faced.

Wittenberg added one more to the board before the half, sending JCU to the locker room ahead 9-2.

There was a momentum change occurring at the end of the first half, and it continued in the second as Wittenberg scored first and the Blue Streak's offensive drought continued. The dry spell had reached over 15 minutes when Guage netted her fourth goal to get John Carroll back into a groove.

From there, Wittenberg and JCU would trade punches as the margin fluctuated between six and eight goals the remainder of the game.

With 24 minutes remaining in the game, sophomore Kaleigh Kotula subbed in for Zablo to tend the goal. Zablo (6) and Kotula (3) would combined for nine saves.
 
Grombala and Guage led the offensive charge for JCU, combining for 11 goals, two assists, 16 shots, four ground balls and three draw controls.  

Emma Workman dominated the draw controls, accumulating nine of JCU's 14, while Wittenberg compiled 11. It was a significant victory for JCU in that Workman went toe-to-toe with Emily Wadds of Wittenberg - who led the nation in draw controls per game last season - and came away with the draw control advantage.

"When we recruited Emma, we did so in large part for her draw capabilities," said John Carroll head coach Rachel Dell. "We knew she would be strong in the draw, so for her to do what she did today was big for us."

Freshman Molly Carroll wreaked havoc on the Tiger offense, causing four of turnovers while picking up six ground balls.  

The defense only allowed 28 shots over the 60 minute match, 18 requiring keeper effort. John Carroll caused 21 turnovers while Wittenberg forced 15 JCU turnovers.

"We worked hard the whole game," said Dell. "We kept our sticks up and tried to cause any turnover that we were within a sticks length of the ball. Last year, we realized we were not getting caused turnovers from our low attackers, so we challenged them today to make sure that the offense stepped up and helped keep the ball in our offensive end."

The Blue Streaks move to 2-0 in their 2019 season and even their historical series with Wittenberg at two wins apiece.  Meanwhile, the Tigers move to 1-2.

John Carroll has won all five of its home openers since its inaugural season, outscoring those five opponents, 95-45.

JCU will venture away from the tundra of University Heights to the balmy breezes of San Juan, Puerto Rico this Tuesday when they face St. Joseph's College of Maine at 1:00 PM.