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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
JCU vs. Berg
Carmen Ferrante
0
Heidelberg HEIDM 0-7
29
Winner John Carroll JCUM 6-1
Heidelberg HEIDM
0-7
0
Final
29
John Carroll JCUM
6-1
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Heidelberg HEIDM 0 0 0 0 0
John Carroll JCUM 13 9 7 0 29

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | | Kyle Kelly, Senior Staff Writer

Whitty Sets Assists Record as Men's Lacrosse Storms Past Berg

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio -- There is no need for a mechanic.

As the John Carroll University Men's Lacrosse Team eclipsed the midway point of the 2021 season, the Blue Streaks are running like a well-oiled machine under Head Coach Joe Rautenstrauch. 

On a sunny Saturday afternoon, JCU was on cruise-control with a 29-0 win against Heidelberg University on April 3, 2021.

"Our mindset coming into today was to be efficient on offense and keep goals out of the net on defense," Rautenstrauch said after the game. "We accomplished both of those goals today. We like where we are at as a team as we reach the second half of Ohio Athletic Conference play."

The Blue Streaks' goaltending tandem of Jon Gaglio, Adam Grant, Oliver Hammond, Jeremy Urban and Johnny Wilson III put together the first shutout of the season and the first since the team beat Marietta 24-0 on April 18, 2019. The quintet collected a combined six saves. 

With five wins in a row and an average margin of victory of 18.8 goals in those games, the Blue and Gold are peaking just in time for a rematch against crosstown rival Baldwin Wallace. John Carroll, who improves to 6-1 on the season with today's win, lost 10-9 to Baldwin Wallace in the first rivalry showdown against the Yellow Jackets in Berea on March 6.

To start the afternoon against the Student Princes, the Blue Streaks shelled a season-high 13 goals in the opening quarter. Skyler Blake, who had a game-best nine goals, capped off the quarter with a goal as time expired. 

Brendan Whitty had five assists through the first 15 minutes of play and as a result, became the all-time assists leader in program history. Whitty now has 102 in his career and is the first Blue Streak ever to exceed 100 career assists.

"It's a well deserved accomplishment for Brendan," Rautenstrauch said. "He's been a 4 year starter for us and one of the smartest players I've been around. He understands where everyone on offense is going to be and has the stick to make those passes. It's really no surprise that he broke the record. He puts a lot of pride into his craft."

In the second quarter, the Blue Streaks tacked on nine more scores, including a goal by Jacob Hoexum with 4:27 to push the score to 19-0. Hoexum's goal — a junior from Forest Hills Eastern High School in Ada, Michigan — marked the first of his career in 20 games played. 

The 22 goals scored in the first half were also a season-high.

In the third stanza, Lucas Bell, Jake Caress and Colin Weeks all notched their first career collegiate goals. JCU led 29-0.

"Our guys have been working hard since we got back in January, so it's great to see those guys get their first goals," Rautenstrauch said. We do a lot of drills to get the ball on different guys' sticks during the week, so we are comfortable with almost everyone on the roster shooting."

Neither team scored in the fourth quarter. 

For the game, the Blue Streaks ripped 60 shots, 45 of which were on goal. 

Defensively, JCU totaled 49 ground balls and caused 31 turnovers. Ian Venard led the way with eight ground balls. Caress and Clayton Karam each caused a game-high three turnovers. 

The Blue Streaks' seventh game of the season and second against Baldwin Wallace is set for this Wednesday, April 7, at 7 p.m. at Don Shula Stadium.
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