Sean Finucane

Men’s Soccer Matchday Preview: John Carroll University vs. #22 Ohio Northern University

11/2/2024 11:20:00 AM | By: Gianluca DiGiacomo, Staff Writer

Massive Match for Massive Playoff Implications Awaits the Blue Streaks

ADA, Ohio – With one final match inbound for Wenzler's Warriors, it is safe to say that the squad's final season in the Ohio Athletic Conference will be one to remember. Tight battles, emotional efforts, and an ultra-tight race for the top of the OAC will conclude with one last contest in the year before postseason festivities ensue—and it is easily the most important.

Most of the tough stretch behind them, the Blue Streaks travel down to Ada today to battle the nationally-ranked Ohio Northern University from their home pitch one final time as conference foes. Historical tension and a game that means so much to the current season, everything is panning out to be one for the ages.

Meet the Opposition: #22 Ohio Northern University Polar Bears

Form
At home to finish out the year, the Polar Bears stand with an impressive 12-3-3 record (6-1-1 OAC). Despite a few bumps in the road, Ohio Northern has maximized a great conference season with a challenging non-conference spell.

After dropping their first match in Gambier to a fellow nationally-ranked Kenyon, they picked up four consecutive wins, including a 5-1 win over #11 Calvin to put many on notice moving forward. After a 2-1 victory over Ohio Wesleyan, the squad drew two games over a weekend against #7 Colorado College and Texas-Dallas. Following a narrow 1-0 win over Rose-Hulman, they lost their second game of the season against Washington College before bouncing back against Greenville.

Conference play started very smooth-sailing, getting both wins and shutouts in their first four matches, scoring 19 goals within that span. Following an 8-0 thrashing of Heidelberg, the Polar Bears drew an unlikely result, 1-1 with Capital.

Ohio Northern faced a tough two-game spell at home, splitting results with a 3-1 conquest of Otterbein, and an excruciating 2-1 loss to Mount Union. This past week, they had an offensive onslaught to take down Wilmington College, 6-2.

Meet the Coaching Staff
Polars Bears Head Coach Chris Matejka is on the verge of finishing his sixth season in the driver's seat of one of Ohio Northern's premier athletic programs. Through his first five seasons, Matejka has made the OAC tournament in each of those years, including hardware in both of the last years (Regular Season Champions in 2022, Tournament Champions in 2023) and back-to-back appearances in the Sweet 16 of the National Tournament. Starting his career as an interim head coach back in 2019, Matejka was a surefire keeper for the athletics department, guiding the team to a 13-6-3 record, a national tournament appearance, and a 10-game winning streak en route.

Matejka's athletic prowess goes beyond his coaching career in Ada, however. He was also a standout soccer player in his college days that won four OAC Championships, four trips to the national tournament, and OAC Midfielder of the Year and All-American status his senior year. He played in a total of 96 matches, starting in 74 of them, scoring 19 goals and dished out 24 assists.

Matejka is assisted by Seth Owings (5th season), and Damon Spaeth (2nd season).

Team Style/Ones to Watch
The Polar Bears have plenty to unpack diving into their personnel—simply put, they are a Top 25 team in the nation for a reason. A veteran-heavy starting lineup and an array of goal-scoring threats makes them a tough nut to crack from an opposition's point of view. Their offensive aggression and unified team movement creates a scary game that keeps defensive lines scrambling, knocking in 50 goals in 18 matches (clocking in at 2.78 goals per game).

It is a close battle for the top scorers in Ohio Northern's squad, the winger Ryan Sommerfeld leads all operations with eight goals and six assists on the year. Sommerfeld is the jack of all trades moving forward for this team; he can play target man, the wings, or as a complete striker. No matter the fit needed for Matejka on a game-by-game basis, the senior can make it happen.

Fifth year midfielder Will Shaffer stays just behind Sommerfeld—another well-rounded player in the center of the park that has netted 7 goals and assisted six more, being one of just four players to start every game for the Polar Bears in the 2024 campaign.

Junior winger Gage Foster and striker Cade Winchester fall slightly behind the cream of the crop, accumulating 15 and 14 points respectively; very fluid and adaptable in their styles which is a common theme for many ONU players.

Despite being a senior-heavy team, the Polar Bears have invested some youth through the center of the park in sophomore Vinnie Chaput and freshmen defensive midfielder Johnny Roussakis, both stepping up and filling vital roles through the middle of the pitch.

Perhaps one of the scariest parts of this Ohio Northern team is their typical center back pairing of seniors Brenden Gervers and Noah Zebrak, who hold down the fort and keep many opposing attacks at bay, helping the team accomplish four shutouts and not allow more than two goals in a game through all of OAC play to date. Both blending great qualities of ball playing, height, and athleticism, the Blue Streaks will have to revitalize their offense for a back line nothing short of a brick wall.

Surprisingly enough, the center back pairing has also been extremely successful on the attacking side of things as well; combining for an absurd eight goals and eight assists; the Saint Ignatius graduate Zebrak in particular knocked in a brace in their 6-2 win over Wilmington in the middle of the week.

Your John Carroll Blue Streaks

Form
Despite an overall stellar 12-4-2 record (6-2 OAC), a match of today's nature could be a determining factor in if John Carroll finishes with a #2 seed or #5 seed. A topsy-turvy season for certain, the Blue & Gold need to be in the shape of their lives, both physically and mentally, for the team's last dance in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

The beginning of non-conference play begged some great results, winning five of their first six games, only marred by a loss in the squad's home opener over Kenyon thanks to a goal conceded in the 83rd minute.

After McCarthy Weekend, the team took a slight decline, drawing an incredible game with Ohio Wesleyan and getting a scoreless draw result in Pennsylvania the following weekend. Coming back to Cleveland the following Wednesday, the squad dropped a 2-0 game against Case Western Reserve. Facing adversity, Wenzler's Warriors rallied back home, taking home a 3-1 victory over Calvin University.

Conference play has been a mixed bag for the Blue Streaks, getting results but perhaps not with the flying colors they may have been planning on for a few matches. Before their 7-0 thrashing of Heidelberg on the 23rd, every Blue Streaks victory in OAC play has only been within one goal, with a loss to Mount Union in Alliance their only true setback. The team is coming off of a demoralizing 1-0 loss to Otterbein from Don Shula Stadium, making today's match mean that much more.

Meet the Coaching Staff
Athletic Hall of Famer and Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic is finishing up 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 56-19-9 record to date. He was recently 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
Desperate to win their final match of the season and secure a first-round bye, the Blue Streaks' identity has stayed true through and through, putting faith in their players in the attacking third and blending team play with individual brilliance.

It has been evidently hard to nail down who exactly are the "go-to" guys for the Blue Streaks, which can be met with a simple response—there aren't any. Offensive leaders shift on a match-by-match basis, and no one player has dominated the ranks in any regard.

Fifth years Jaden Wright and Logan Penton currently lead the charge, combining for 11 goals and five more assists to date.

Penton jumped his fifth-year partner in crime after recording a hat trick in a span of seven minutes during a chaotic second half from Williams Stadium last weekend. Penton is certainly a momentum-based guy, and hopes to ride home from that momentum despite drawing blanks at Don Shula Stadium in the middle of the week.

Wright's foot has been the factor for three game-winning goals, including two separate occasions of scoring the sole goals with ten minutes left (1-0 wins against Carnegie Mellon and Baldwin Wallace). He opened the scoring this last weekend in Wilmington and created a few chances against Otterbein— his direct and explosive nature ought to cause problems.

Following close behind are the fifth year Patrick Koenig, who jumped the ranks with his hat trick in the last affair against Heidelberg, and the freshman Dylan Halm, who has one of the many excellent additions from the freshmen class with contributions in a spread of affairs this season.

Luka Pranjeta and Hayden Haffner follow with three goals each, all respectively coming up huge in games to secure victories.

Coming into the midfield, senior Nicholas Graeca leads the charge, being one of the vital organs of this Blue Streaks team. With consistent high energy and a newfound sense of composure, the DuBois, Pennsylvania native will make his mark on both sides of the ball this evening.

Other midfielders such as Guilherme Wanderley, Andrew Ruggiero, and Logan Brown also use their dynamic playstyles to control the middle third and push momentum forward.

Perhaps the most important piece of this John Carroll squad on the year, however, is their defensive line. Constantly switching personnel due to injury, the Blue Streaks have never lost the form on their back four, only conceding 12 goals on the year.

Both of the team's goalkeepers lead the OAC in goals against average, and junior keeper Brenden Moher sits towards the top of the rankings in the country in the statistics. The Blue Streaks have shut out nine different opponents this year, including four different OAC games.

Despite trial and tribulation, the defenders of Izac Coleman, Nathan Monastra, and Daniel Kalic have all been the loyal subjects of one of the most impenetrable defenses in the region. Freshmen Nick Mikulec has also shifted to be back with injuries and settles in nicely along with a fellow former Saint Ignatius center back in Kalic.

Matchup History
Heading into their final OAC battle, the Blue Streaks hold a current record of 22-15-8 in all competitions against Ohio Northern. Things have been quite neck and neck in previous years, the last two meetings being split with 2-1 wins away from home for the respective teams—the Polar Bears taking one at Don Shula Stadium in 2022 and the Blue Streaks winning by the same scoreline in Ada last year.

Despite JCU getting the best of the Polar Bears for the greater part of the last decade, Ada's White and Orange have left quite the sour taste in the mouths of Blue Streak fans historically.

Here are some quick facts about the historic matchup:

John Carroll's 2022 regular season loss is the only loss against the Polar Bears dating all the way back to the 2015 regular season.
Ohio Northern defeated John Carroll in OAC Championship games in three consecutive seasons (2011, 2012, 2013), shutting them out in each and scoring 13 combined goals across all three seasons—later winning the 2015 OAC Championship over Carroll in a penalty shootout
Ohio Northern's longest unbeaten run came from a ten-game span ranging from 2008-2013.
The Polar Bears have not beaten the Blue Streaks in Ada since the 2015 season.
The first matchup between the two programs took place in 1989, Ohio Northern taking a 4-2 win in Ada.
The Blue Streaks hold a 7-1-2 record over the Polar Bears in the last ten matchups, with both draws leading to penalty shootouts won by the Blue Streaks.
The Blue Streaks hold a 9-9-3 record historically playing in Ada.

Up Next
Depending on the outcome of this afternoon's match, the dates are set for the OAC Tournament.

OAC Quarterfinals: Tuesday, November 5
OAC Semifinals: Thursday, November 7
OAC Championship: Saturday, November 9

The tournament structure is simple; the top six teams from conference play make the tournament, with the top two seeds getting byes. #3 plays #6, and #4 plays #5 in the quarterfinal matches, with the lowest remaining seeds playing the respective highest seeds for the semifinals. Of course, the winners of the semifinal matchups play in the OAC Championship with the higher seed gaining home-field advantage.

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 Ohio Northern Athletics website and OAC TV.

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