Box Score The John Carroll Blue Streaks squeeze every drop of drama it could from its first round game against Hope College in the NCAA Division III Tournament Tuesday night in Rochester, New York.

The Blue and Gold overcame a three goal second half deficit, survived an eight minute scoring drought to end regulation after they took the lead, and then waited until their third possession of the extra session to produce a dramatic game winner. In the final 30 seconds of the extra period, Colin Corcoran received a pass from Brendan Whitty, and his shot would not be stopped as the goal gave the Blue Streaks the victory.

John Carroll began its 2019 NCAA Division III Tournament trek in the first round against Hope, a somewhat familiar opponent in that they had just faced each other last season. Meeting each other for the first time in Holland, Michigan in a non-conference regular season game, the Blue Streaks scored seven goals but the Flying Dutchmen took a 9-7 victory.

Fast forward a year later, with the stakes higher and at a familiar location for JCU on the campus of Rochester Institute of Technology, the Blue Streaks scored seven goals again, with the final one being the difference.

The first quarter started with an early goal from Hope. Whitty recorded his first assist of the game soon after, however, as Logan Collins scored on a man-up opportunity, and the score stood at 1-1 with 6:50 remaining in the opening quarter. That score would carry until the end of the first, with the JCU ride proving to be difficult to figure out, while the Hope defense kept the Blue and Gold off the board, and that would be the case for the second quarter.

For the fourth time this season, the Blue Streaks were held scoreless in a quarter. The Flying Dutchmen added two goals in the second, and took a 3-1 lead into halftime. Jacob Betz saw plenty of action in the second quarter, making six saves on eight shots on goal. Evan Schneeberger won 50 percent of the face-offs in the first half, winning three in six attempts.

Hope scored less than two minutes into the third quarter to make it 4-1, and the Blue Streaks seemed to be teetering. Despite winning the shots battle, the Blue Streaks went nearly the first 40 minutes of the contest with just one goal to their credit.

That all changed when, at the 5:23 mark, Ian Flynn took the lid off for JCU. That proved to be the spark that the Blue Streaks' offense needed. Following Flynn's goal, Bennett Gorman, and Whitty, with an assist from Corcoran, each scored, and with under two minutes to play in the third quarter, the score was tied at 4-4.

After a response from the Flying Dutchmen, scoring with 1:02 left, Gorman scored his second goal of the game 21 seconds later. At the end of three quarters, John Carroll and Hope were tied at 5-5.

The defenses of both teams would keep the opposing offenses of the scoreboard for the opening seven minutes of the fourth quarter. Until an unlikely offensive hero stepped up.

Sully Dansbury, in transition from a clear, scored his first collegiate goal with an assist from Cam Cecere, and John Carroll took its first lead of the game at 6-5. That would be short-lived, however, as the Flying Dutchmen evened the game with a goal with 4:50 to play in regulation.

After a timeout in the final seconds of the fourth quarter, Hope had the ball  with a chance to win in regulation, but a check from Robbie Robinson disrupted the offense of the Flying Dutchmen, and they ultimately could not recover. The two teams would need to find a winner in overtime.

JCU had possession first after Schneeberger won his ninth face-off in 17 attempts.. The offense did not convert the first two times it had control, but in the final minute of overtime, the Flying Dutchmen received an offsides penalty, resulting in an extra-man opportunity for 30 seconds for the Blue Streaks.

The Blue Streaks did not waste time or the opportunity. Corcoran had assisted Whitty earlier in the game, and in the final possession of overtime, the roles were reversed. Whitty assisted Corcoran, as he unleashed a shot to the top-portion of the net. The goal gave John Carroll the win, and advanced them to the second round of the NCAA Division III Tournament.

JCU is now 2-3 all-time in NCAA play, which includes a 2-0 mark against MIAA teams. The Blue Streaks defeated Albion, 14-9, in the first round of the 2017 show.

Whitty and Corcoran each had a goal and two assists. Clayton Karam secured 10 ground balls and caused three turnovers. Jacob Betz finished the game with 10 saves. 

The season continues for John Carroll, which improves to 13-6. Hope's season ends at 14-4.

John Carroll will take on #1 ranked RIT on Wednesday, May 8th at 7:00 P.M. RIT is ranked first in the insidelacrosse.com Media Poll, and this will be the third meeting between the Blue Streaks and Tigers in the NCAA Tournament.