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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Brenden Swann vs. Capital
Sean Finucane
Brenden Swann scored the game-tying goal early in the second half, and Steven Samuelson won it off a Logan Penton corner in the second overtime period.
1
Capital CAP (10-7-1, 4-4-1)
2
Winner John Carroll JCU (13-5-1, 6-3-0)
Capital CAP
(10-7-1, 4-4-1)
1
Final
2
John Carroll JCU
(13-5-1, 6-3-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 OT 1 OT 2 F
Capital CAP 1 0 0 0 1
John Carroll JCU 0 1 0 1 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Joe Ginley '16 & Dylan Feltovich, Staff Writer

Men's Soccer Surges Past Comets in OAC Quarterfinal in a Wild Finish

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – A miracle goal in the final minute of overtime play by Steven Samuelson gave John Carroll Men's Soccer a dramatic victory over the Capital Comets in the OAC Tournament Quarterfinal, 2-1.

"I am so happy for the boys," said Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic '06 on Samuelson's game-winning goal. "I'm really happy they got to experience that kind of moment after all the adversity we've faced in the last couple weeks."

Both teams fought tooth and nail in the second 10-minute overtime period. With less than a minute remaining, John Carroll almost ended the match with a Jack Foht strike that was deflected by Capital keeper Ethan Ogden. Twenty seconds later, Steven Samuelson gave the Blue Streaks the lead for the first time with a header off of the Logan Penton corner kick with just 19 ticks on the clock.

Watch the goal here!

With the victory, the Blue Streaks advance to the OAC Semifinal on Thursday. 

As if someone flipped a switch in the third minute of the match, the season switched from fall to winter. Flurries flew but did not accumulate on the pitch.

The Blue Streaks pressured the Comets with speed from the start. In the regular-season matchup, the Comets attacked John Carroll with speed, breaking through the JCU defenses. In the rematch, Dejan Mladenovic played speedsters all across the pitch. 

The tactic nearly paid off in the early going, as the Blue Streaks tallied shot after shot. Hayden Haffner played a dangerous shot barely wide right in the ninth minute.

In the 15th and 25th minutes, Jaden Wright had promising opportunities go wide, with Brenden Swann sending a perfect through ball in on one of the chances. 

The teams kept the same 22 men on the field for the first 29 minutes until Brenden Swann forced the Capital keeper to make a save. A fracas followed in front of the net, which led to a yellow card on Swann. 

Soon after subbing on in the 29th minute, Patrick Koenig got three chances for the Blue Streaks, but all sailed high or wide. Despite John Carroll dominating the play, albeit missing shots off target, the visitors struck first. 

Just after the one-minute call, Jack Francisco got it in the center of the field at about the 25 and tapped it to the left-side to Jack Kossoudji, who squared a cross inside the box to Mujahid Abdel-Ghani. The Toledo native immediately left-footed a shot high and shocked the home crowd. 

And so, the Comets took a 1-0 lead into the break. This despite the Blue Streaks enjoying a commanding 12-5 advantage in shots. 

But the Capital lead quickly vanished when Brenden Swann capitalized on a yellow card assessed to Samuel Yocum in the 49th minute. The St. Edward grad rocketed the free kick in the back of the net to tie the match.

"Unbelievable," stated Mladenovic on Swann's goal. "He's been a good player for us for five years, but tonight, he took it to a whole new level. Being down 1-0 in a game like this, he hits one of the best free kicks I've seen in program history. His defensive effort, his energy, his leadership was really important for us tonight and a huge factor in why we won."

The defensive effort was ramped up in the second half, with goalie Brenden Moher blocking a beautiful shot by Jack Kossoudji in the 53th minute. 

While John Carroll's defense took over in the second half, the momentum shifted in their favor when Brennan Hesse was assessed a yellow card in the 56th minute.

John Carroll had another chance to take the lead in the 76th minute after Jaden Wright made a perfect pass to Hayden Haffner. The pass unfortunately just got away from Haffner, and the chance was quickly squandered away when the Capital goalie scooped up the opportunity.

A few minutes later, in the 81st minute, the Comets had their own chance on goal. Despite the sudden snowfall, Mujahid Abdel-Ghani ripped a shot off that missed right, keeping the Blue Streaks alive.

The Blue Streaks gave one last effort in the final minutes of regulation, with multiple attempts in the 85th and 87th minute. Patrick Koenig had the final shot in the 89th minute, but his attempt was too high, resulting in two overtime periods.

The Capital offense took over in the extra time of play, with Capital having a corner kick within a minute of overtime. This was followed by another missed opportunity by Mujahid Abdel-Ghani in the 97th minute.

Even with multiple shots from the Comets, John Carroll's defense held strong, and did not allow a goal in the first 10 minutes of overtime. And while both teams continued the intense play in the second overtime, JCU was able to prevail in the final minute.
 
"You play your whole life for moments like that," said Samuelson. There's nothing better than seeing the ball go in the back of the net and celebrating with your teammates."

The Blue Streaks will travel down to Westerville for a semi final matchup against Otterbein on Thursday.
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