Jose Figueroa

Men’s Soccer Match Preview: John Carroll University vs. Trine University

9/15/2024 10:04:00 AM | By: Gianluca DiGiacomo, Staff Writer

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UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – With a standout victory on Friday over the Ospreys, your John Carroll Blue Streaks have an aim to continue their latest streak of wins and close out the first ever Cleveland Classic with two wins.

Coming into their final hectic 72-hour doubleheader of their regular season campaign, the match checks out to be a good one as the squad hits their stride in non-conference play. Here is everything you need to know about the second meeting in history between the two programs.

Meet the Opposition: Trine Thunder

Form
The Thunder came into this one with a head of steam, defeating formerly nationally-ranked team Case Western Reserve on Friday with a goal with just 13 seconds left to bleed out on the clock, Anes Dervisevic at the back post to put in a lovely cross from Dalton Douglas.

It has been a topsy-turvy season for Trine thus far, with a 2-2 record to date. After dropping an unsuspecting game to Wooster in the season opener, they bounced back with a 2-1 win over Otterbein. After a 2-0 loss to North Central last Friday, they took the win this weekend over Case Western Reserve.

The next two games will be quite the challenge—after the Blue Streaks, Trine goes back home to take on #5 Kenyon College in Angola.

Meet the Coaching Staff
Interim Head Coach Mike Avery is brand new within his position with the team, and comes from a background of vast experience. Avery has worked as an assistant coach with the likes of the University of Louisville, Notre Dame, and San Diego State University.

After these stops, Avery coached at Valparaiso, where he boosted the program greatly during his tenure.

At the club level, Avery serves as the head coach and Sporting Director of Fort Wayne FC, one of the top-ranked USL2 teams across the entire country, a coach whose magic I have seen firsthand through working with Cleveland Force SC.

Coach Avery is assisted by Taylor Cool (1st season) and Volunteer Assistant Victor Newberg.

Team Style/Ones to Watch
Working into a new system, Trine has adapted a more direct approach to each game, maximizing their personnel and taking a more pragmatic approach. The Thunder stay largely compact and possession-based in much of their play on the pitch, and will be a tough nut to crack in knocking in goals.

The frontman and reigning All-MIAA Second Team Djimo Kouyate leads the charge this year, scoring two of the team's three goals on the season despite starting only once. The striker gives a complete archetype with a lot of talent to apply in a variety of situations. Whether he ends up as a spark plug off the bench or a big-minute starter this afternoon, his impact will not go under the radar.

The back line has seen large minutes altogether through the first four matches, with juniors Gavin Hardy (reigning All-MIAA First Team) and Ryan Cote lead in minutes as the center backs, while the talented right back Luke Kearns is just behind them as the top three.

Midfielder Jarick Aguilar is the biggest asset for the coaching staff in the center of the park, also picking up a Second Team All-MIAA last year and is returning for more, starting all four of the first four games.

Your John Carroll Blue Streaks

Form
The Blue Streaks find themselves 4-1 through their first five outings, getting shutouts in all of their fours wins and only conceding a goal on the year. With each game passing, the team's chemistry and ball progression looks cleaner and cleaner. An exciting site for Blue Streak fans everywhere.

Friday held another great victory, Nicholas Graeca scoring from about 30 yards out in the 30th minute, and Dylan Halm tacking on two more for back-to-back 3-0 wins.

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 48-16-7 record. He was inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame last season for both his playing and coaching careers.

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 each passing game, one can see the Blue Streaks' style become progressively more uniform. As players settle into their roles it can be difficult to have all of the pieces fall into their correct places, but hopefully John Carroll has begun a proper approach to that journey.

The Blue Streaks play a great blend of team game and letting individual brilliance shine through, and their approaches to games have certainly become more pragmatic compared to year's past. Attacking talent such as Jaden Wright, Logan Penton, Jack Foht, and Patrick Koenig should surely put some hair on the chest of opposing defenders.

Midfielder/attacker Hayden Haffner will also be sure to make an impact tonight after picking up a hat trick after coming off of the bench against Wooster this past Saturday. Senior captain Nicholas Graeca is also destined to continue his run of good form, picking up two assists in the last two matches.

Finally, the back line is still looking stronger than ever, with Dominic Grobler continuing getting the nod in goal with Brenden Moher remaining sidelined due to injury, and the flat back four of Izac Coleman, Daniel Kalic, Cade Gergye, and Nathan Monastra brings a great blend of pace, technicality, and of course, defending.

Matchup History
Similar to the Stockton matchup, the Blue Streaks have only faced the Thunder one time in the history of the program. Back in 2009, the Blue Streaks took home a win with second half goals courtesy of Kyle Buxman and Corey Rider gave John Carroll the win.

The first goal came in the 61st minute of play, where Joe Ciacchi centered the ball for Corey Buxman who played a one-touch ball for Kyle Buxman in the center.

Just ten minutes later, Rider scored one of his own after receiving a deflected pass. The Thunder will be walking onto University Heights territory wanting to level the historical playing field.

Up Next
The Blue Streaks will have another home game on Wednesday as the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan will make the trek to Don Shula Stadium for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff, legendary coach Jay Martin's final tango with John Carroll.

The Thunder have another tough battle to face #5 Kenyon College next Saturday at 4:00 p.m. back home in Angola.

Where to Follow
Today's match will be broadcasted on jcusports.com and OAC TV, and social media coverage can be found on the X, Instagram, and FaceBook profiles of @jcusports and @jcumenssoccer.

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