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Guilherme Wanderley file photo action
Peter Wangechi

Men’s Soccer Match Preview: John Carroll University vs. University of Mount Union

| By: Gianluca DiGiacomo, Staff Writer

Blue Streaks Prepare for Possible Final Derby with OAC Rivals

ALLIANCE, Ohio – With the final days of fall break winding down and fall weather really beginning to settle in all around Northeast Ohio, Wenzler's Warriors suit up to play one of the most important games of their season to date.

After starting their conference campaign with a gritty 1-0 win in New Concord over Muskingum, it must be quite the mental turnaround for the Blue Streaks as they play their famed rival Purple Raiders from their home turf in Kehres Stadium one final time as OAC foes in the regular season.

Given the team's shortcomings last year in Alliance with one more chance to gain the last laugh, the Blue Streaks need every fiber of motivation to push through against a team with a presence at home like no other—the Purple Raiders have not dropped a single game in Alliance since October of 2022.

Meet the Opposition: University of Mount Union Purple Raiders

Form
A couple bumps in the road against some standout teams brings the Purple Raiders into this one with a 7-3-1 record to show for. After dropping their opener against now 17th-ranked Denison, the Purple Raiders would bag 12 goals in the next three games with wins over Bethany, Allegheny, and Transylvania respectively. After dropping a game in Virginia to No. 1 Mary Washington, the team picked up with wins over Hampton-Sydney and Franciscan.

As of late, the team sits at 2-1-1 in their last four games; facing a tough loss to Calvin in Grand Rapids, redeeming themselves at Wooster, and drawing Case Western. To open conference play, the Purple Raiders took down a formidable conference opponent in Otterbein in Westerville.

Meet the Coaching Staff
In the full swing of his fourth season in Alliance, Head Coach David Krems sits at the coaching pedestal for Mount Union. Accumulating a 46-19-10 record thus far as head coach, the program has seen huge improvements with him at the driver's seat. Krems has taken the team to the OAC Tournament in each of his years (excluding the COVID season), and led the team to nationally-ranked status and the most wins in program history last season with a 16-2-2 record.

Before taking his talent to Alliance, Krems was an assistant at Penn State Behrend, helping achieve a 35-6-2 record over two seasons, two AMC Conference titles, and two national tournament appearances, including a Round of 16 run in 2018.

The Lakewood-native also had assistant coaching stints at the likes of Notre Dame College, Hiram College, and Xavier University.

As a player, Krems was a four-year starter at Hiram, where he stands at seventh place all-time in career goals.

Team Style/Ones to Watch
This season has marked a turn of much more adaptation to opponent's from a tactical perspective and less pragmatism from the Purple Raiders; changing their formations on a more frequent basis to keep opponents guessing. We have seen a lot of their classic 3-5-2, but they have also moved into formations such as a 4-3-3 when necessary, with their team's breadth of personnel to take on roles on a game-by-game basis.

In an in-game sense, the Purple Raiders are a team very difficult to break down, with some of the most hard working players in the country and a highly motivated team, especially with the stipulations that tonight has ingrained. With their uniquely narrow pitch at Kehres Stadium, the squad also has a home field advantage like no other to accompany a typically solid showing from fans.

From a personnel perspective, the heart and soul of the team is placed in the 5th year Carter Hancock, a reigning First Team All-American who possesses one of the highest workrates Division III has to offer to this day. With the departure of players such as Omar Najjar, Zak Peterjohn, and Brett Kayser who gave their major leadership roles to the team, a looming question was if Hancock could continue his run of form now that he is on the radar of every team in the country. Tallying seven goals and assisting another through 11 games, safe to say he absolutely has. Hancock's blend of place, technicality, and work ethic makes him a perfect player to fill an array of attacking roles, more primarily playing in the attacking midfield and on the wing in recent times.

Mount Union's talent radius stems far beyond Hancock, of course, with attackers such as Dom Kustura and freshmen Amir Spratt having some offensive impact, scoring four goals each and each having two more assists. Junior Reese Utter has also been a huge piece to the team, playing in central midfield and being one of five players to start in every game this season.

As to be expected, Mount's biggest strength is within their defense, which can shift and change into just about anything that Coach Krems can think of. With so much ball-playing talent within their defenders, building from the back causes a minimum of fuss, and can easily cause opponents to spiral out of frustration.

On the outskirts of the backline are typically fifth year Adam Kalvitz and sophomore Alex Depperschmidt. Kalvitz holds another leadership role on the team, and offers an athletic, coordinated, and brute force fullback for whoever comes dashing down the left hand flank for the Blue Streaks. Meanwhile Depperschmidt is the more offensive of the two; his role on the team freshman year much more on the attacking side of things, he has fit into the back nicely, and has tallied four assists from this position.

Meanwhile in the center, AJ Jaber, senior Sam Falcone, and freshman Asher Hart are the primary suspects to see in the back. Jaber is the most prominent of the three, combining the best elements of his size and athleticism, who is also equipped with a stellar long ball.

This synthesis of talent only really scratches the surface, as the Purple Raiders have a plethora of solid players beyond their typical starters.

Your John Carroll Blue Streaks

Form
Entering Derby Day in Alliance, the Blue Streaks have accumulated a 7-2-2 record up until tonight. It has been a rollercoaster ride of a season to say the least; after dropping their home opener to Kenyon, the team picked up steam with four consecutive wins after that. A bump in the road with two draws and a loss in a three-game span was paved over by wins against Calvin and Muskingum.

Most notable in their form, however, has been the team on the defensive side of things; only conceding six goals in the first 11 games, achieving six shutouts and not conceding more than two goals in a single game.

Meet the Coaching Staff
Athletic Hall of Famer and Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic takes on his fourth season as head coach after 15 years as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator. Through his first three seasons, Mladenovic has captured two OAC Tournament Championships, one OAC Regular Season Championship, and three NCAA Tournament berths to complement a 51-17-9 record to date. He was inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame last season for his playing career.

Accompanying Mladenovic on the coaching staff are assistant coaches Ante Pilekic (4th year) and Michael Adelman (3rd year), as well as Athletic Trainer Eddie Dobrowolski.

Team Style/Ones to Watch
With a vast pool of personnel and plenty of technicality, the Blue Streaks bring a great combination of team play and individual brilliance to keep opponents on their toes. The most apparent example is within their attack, where no single player has dominated the ranks. With 19 goals on the season, four different players have knocked in three goals each (Wright, Haffner, Halm, Pranjeta), with each of the bunch having select runs of form that are extremely difficult to predict.

From a tactical perspective, the Streaks have become a far more pragmatic team in a formational sense, going from 5-6 different systems last season to sticking with one gameplan through the entire campaign this fall. 

The fifth-year wingers in Jaden Wright and Logan Penton will bring the pain this evening for Mount's defense, certainly a clash for the ages as the two have combined for ten goal involvements to date. Both extremely pacey, silky smooth, and ravenous when attacking the goal, their roles will be dependent on the Purple Raiders' defensive approach and how much space they have to attack the center or to maximize the width of the pitch. Fifth-year Hayden Haffner has also been a force up top, and has shifted between the front line and the wings this season.

Off the bench, the Blue Streaks have a great rotation of first-team quality attackers with Jack Foht, Patrick Koenig, Dylan Halm, and Luka Pranjeta ready to pounce on any given occasion.

The midfield has also been in a great swing of talent, Nicholas Graeca being the top performer with two goals and four assists to compliment a tireless mentality and a newfound sense of composure.

Newcomers such as the first year Nicholas Mikulec and the Brazilian Notre Dame College transfer Gui Wanderley have also been great additions, and senior Andrew Ruggiero has been in a great run of form in the last few games to bring another element.

As mentioned before, the back line has been the glue holding many operations together, with graduate student Izac Coleman and fifth-year Daniel Kalic being the constants in a defense constantly changing due to tactics or injury.

To top it all off, the goalkeepers have been on top of their game—both Brenden Moher and Dominc Grobler standing atop the Ohio Athletic Conference on Goals Against Average.

Matchup History
The John Carroll Blue Streaks have a record of 35-10-8 against the Purple Raiders in all competitions. The last two years has seen a split between the sides, with John Carroll getting a 2-0 win at home in 2022, while the Purple Raiders picked up their first win over the Blue Streaks since 2010 last year with a resounding 3-1 win at Kehres Stadium.

Here are some quick facts about the historical matchup:
  • The Purple Raiders are looking to score their first pair of consecutive wins over the Blue Streaks since wins back in 1969 and 1970
  • John Carroll has only scored one goal at Kehres Stadium since their 3-1 win back in 2016, being a consolation goal in last year's match from Patrick Koenig
  • John Carroll's biggest winning streak came from the span of 2011-2018, their biggest undefeated streak being from 2011-2022
  • The Blue Streaks hold a record of 11-4-4 at Kehres Stadium, not winning in Alliance since 2016
  • The Purple Raiders have not lost a game at Kehres Stadium since 10/29/2022 in a narrow 2-1 defeat against Otterbein, and have gone 13-0 since

Up Next
The Blue Streaks will be back at home this Saturday to take on Capital University from Don Shula Stadium, kickoff at 7 pm.

For the Purple Raiders, they will stay at home this Saturday to take on the currently undefeated Wilmington College, kickoff also at 7 pm in Alliance.

Where to Follow
Coverage of today's match will be available on @jcusports and @jcumenssoccer accounts on X, Instagram, and Facebook. The stream for the match will be located on the Mount Union Athletics Website and OAC TV.

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