Blue Streaks Blank the Crusaders in 2021 Home Opener

3/21/2021 4:26:00 PM | By: Thomas Strasshofer, Graduate Assistant

Robinson posts stellar day in win over Capital

Box Score UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, OH --- On a beautiful Sunday afternoon at Don Shula Stadium, the John Carroll University men's soccer program paid tribute pregame to the late Chris Wenzler '90, with his wife Melissa, and two children Madeline and Oliver in attendance. Wenzler, who dedicated the previous 30 years of his life to John Carroll, the sports information department and the men's soccer program, passed away in June 2020 after his 26-month battle with cancer. During his long tenure (1990-2020), the John Carroll men's soccer program posted an incredible 195-47-18 record in home games.

"It was something that we talked about in our pregame meeting and at halftime, that we knew we played for a bigger purpose today," said Associate Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic. "Chris was a great friend of the program. He was someone who always really cared about what we were doing on and off the field. We wanted to make sure that we represented the program well today and that we played a little bit harder for him to show how much he meant to us, and to make sure we got the result that he deserves."

The game was dominated by physical play from both squads which resulted in 37 fouls, seven yellow cards and five penalty kicks. For John Carroll, William Turrittin (13:43), Connor Mendel (26:54) and Michael Adelman (72:05) are the Blue Streaks to be warranted yellow cards. While for the Crusaders it was Mujahid Abdel-Ghani (16:00), Cole Hamilton (28:09), Nick Scharfenberger (29:00) and their head coach Alan Yost at halftime earning the yellow cards.

Aside from the whistle happy match, the Blue Streaks controlled the match.

It was William Turrittin who opened up the flood gates for JCU on an 11th minute penalty kick. Upon his goal, Turrittin paid a little tribute of his own to the Wenzler family as he jogged over to the sideline where Melissa, Madeline and Oliver sat, and held up a heart signifying his love and appreciation for the Wenzlers.

"That is something that I will never forget during the rest of my time as a John Carroll coach," Mladenovic said emotionally. "It was a really special moment and not going to lie, I had tears in my eyes. You can tell the connection between the Wenzler family and our program, and when Will did that, I think it was just a perfect moment, tribute and exchange between the Wenzler family and one of our top players."

In addition, Turrittin also added a second successful penalty kick in the 29th minute. These are the captain's first two goals on the young season.

Benjamin Hryszko joined in on the action with a 21st minute goal. Hryszko received a world class through ball from Jared Ianiro, setting Hryszko up with the back of the net and his first goal on the season.

In the 42nd minute, Mario Abou-Mitri followed in the footsteps of Turrittin with a penalty kick conversion of his own, extending the score for the Blue Streaks 4-0.

Sophomore Gino Romeo concluded the goal scoring for JCU in the 89th minute with a dribbler the squeaked past Kellen Sargent in goal for Capital. Romeo was assisted by a few of late substitutes in Ian Fields and Roland Herndon in order to get the job done.

This John Carroll victory was not complete without the iron wall in goal in junior goalkeeper Connor Robinson. Robinson posted a clean sheet in the win this afternoon after notching four saves, including one on a penalty kick. This marks Robinson's second clean sheet in as many matches this season.

With this win, Head Coach Hector Marinaro is now tied for the most wins by a head coach in John Carroll men's soccer program history with his 177th career victory.

Moreover, John Carroll moves to 2-0 on the season after their 5-0 win today. The Crusaders however suffer their first defeat of the season, falling to a record of 2-1.

John Carroll will look forward to Thursday March, 25 at 7:00 PM for a showdown in University Heights, OH against the Otterbein Cardinals.

Print Friendly Version

Related Videos

Related Stories

Sponsors