Men's Soccer vs. CWRU file photo from 2023

Peter Wangechi

Men’s Soccer Match Preview: #24 John Carroll University vs. Case Western Reserve University

9/25/2024 3:27:00 PM | By: Gianluca DiGiacomo, Staff Writer

Blue Streaks Looking to Snap Out of Two-Game Drawing Streak

CLEVELAND – The Blue Streaks are rounding third and heading home in their out-of-conference ordeals, with their final away game commencing tonight from DiSanto Field at Case Western Reserve University, taking on the Spartans.

With the team tying back-to-back games for the first time since 2009 and dropping down a spot on the national pedestal, John Carroll has some work to do to get back on winning terms, especially when trying to take down a brother in arms of some of the finest Cleveland soccer programs.

Meet the Opposition: Case Western Reserve Spartans

Form
The Spartans come into this match with a 4-2-1 record, with some bumps in the road to an otherwise smooth-sailing season thus far. After dropping the first game of the season to Otterbein conceding a goal within the first twenty minutes. The team bounced back winning four of their next five, only marred by conceding with 13 seconds left in a loss to Trine University.

Coming off of a hard-fought draw against Denison, CWRU is hungry to finish their non-UAA matchups with a bang from their home turf.

Meet the Coaching Staff
Head Coach Carter Poe enters his fifth year as the head of the men's soccer program for the Spartans in the 2024 season. After guiding the team to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances for the first time in program history, Poe looks to carry his momentum forward and make it a third this season. Going into this one, he stands at a 30-16-11 record with Case Western Reserve.

Poe's familiarity with the Blue Streaks goes far beyond his years with the Spartans, however, as before taking the job in Cleveland, he was the head coach in Alliance for the University of Mount Union. Taking over after two years as an assistant, Poe tallied a 46-32-12 record and guided the Purple Raiders to three consecutive OAC Tournament appearances for the first time in the program's history.

Coach Poe also coached AFC Cleveland (now Cleveland SC) when the team secured a National Championship back in 2016, mentoring Case Western Reserve soccer legends such as Vinnie Bell and Chris Cvecko. This came after a brief playing career with the team in 2012-2013.

Team Style/Ones to Watch
Not many things are certain in the realm of Division III soccer, but it is safe to say that Case Western Reserve are well-known for being one of the best tactical teams in the country. The Spartans play in a system not entirely based on pragmatics, but make adjustments when necessary on a game-by-game basis. The way the team rotates and shifts with great uniformity makes the team's style come off as slightly robotic, but in the most beautiful way possible.

One of the greatest dangers in this team lies in its front four, with Kysen Kroeger leading the charge with five goals and an assist on the year. Kroeger versatility and spatial awareness makes him a special talent up top, having direct involvement of six of the squad's eleven goals despite only playing one game over 75 minutes. Backing him up within the attacking midfield include the likes of Ohta Kamiya, Adam Pluszczyk, and Charlie Wittenberg, who can each play a variety of roles accordingly.

The central midfielder Lukas Dalakis primarily holds it down in the center of the park, providing cushion for the back four as well as dishing out balls to attackers, tallying three assists this year.

The back line had big shoes to fill after the departure of many starters, but they have caught on well, only conceding five goals in their first seven games. The junior Phillip Washington has been a primary suspect in the defense's quality, as well as the keeper Bradley Winter.

With a quality starting eleven and players to bloom off the bench such as the graduate student Kellan Landefeld and Amir Awais provides plenty of dangerous combinations on the pitch.

Your John Carroll Blue Streaks

Form
With a national ranking still to their name, the Blue Streaks are still looking stellar as ever coming into tonight with a 5-1-2 record and ranked 24th in the country. After splitting their first two games, the team has not lost since; picking up a four-game winning streak and drawing their last two.

There will be two more difficult games left before shifting focus to the final OAC season, with the Spartans tonight and Calvin University back at home on Saturday, who have been the Achilles heel of the men's soccer program for the last few years now.

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 49-16-9 record to date. He was inducted into the JCU Athletic Hall of Fame last season for both his playing and coaching careers.

A fun stake of today, Dejan Mladenovic could earn his 50th career win as a head coach, a huge accolade in what will hopefully be a long career at the helm for the Blue Streaks.

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
Wenzler's Warriors bring a strong blend of team chemistry and individual brilliance to the table against each opponent they take on, and the team will be aiming to pick up their offensive momentum nearly two weeks ago from McCarthy weekend.

Fifth-year attacker Jaden Wright has been the stalwart presence up top for John Carroll, scoring two goals and assisting two more during McCarthy Weekend and causing some havoc against Ohio Wesleyan. Since being moved into the center of the front three, Wright has seen many more dangerous chances to capitalize on. Wingers to compliment him such as Hayden Haffner and Logan Penton make Wright even more dangerous, as well as posing quite the threat themselves.

The midfield will play a pivotal role not only in positional play, but also in transition. With Case's tactical structure being as rigid as it is, the midfield will be called upon more to kickstart the offense and catch the opposition lacking. With the likes of Nicholas Graeca, Guilherme Wanderley, and Nick Mikulec as well as countless names off the bench, one can only hope for the Blue Streaks to make the dream work in the center third.

Matchup History
In the grand scheme of things, the Blue Streaks hold a 27-16-5 record against Case Western Reserve in all competitions. In a long rivalry between the two, the respective sides have not had a decisive result since 2019 when the Blue Streaks defeated the Spartans from DiSanto Field. Since then, it has been drawn and nothing more.

Here are some quick facts about the historical matchup:

The last three matches between the two teams have been ties, with a 1-1 double overtime result in 2021, a chaotic 2-2 draw in Cleveland in 2022, and a scoreless draw at Don Shula Stadium in 2023; even their spring scrimmage ended in a 1-1 draw this past offseason!
These two programs have one of the more extensive histories of most men's soccer matchups with their first faceoff coming all the way back in 1971
John Carroll's biggest winning streak against the Spartans came with a nine-game winning streak from 1989-1998
Before the streak of three draws in the last three years, the last tie recorded between the two teams came all the way back in 1987
John Carroll's biggest win over the Spartans came in 1993 with a 6-1 win, while Case has picked up 4-0 wins in 1975, 1988, and 2011

Up Next
The Blue Streaks have one more non-conference match back at home, a duel with the knights of Calvin University from Don Shula Stadium on Saturday, September 28 with a 6 p.m. kickoff. One more match before their final battle in the Ohio Athletic Conference.

For the Spartans, they also have one final out-of-conference stint on Saturday from DiSanto Field, taking on the University of Mount Union at 1:30 p.m.

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 Case Athletics Website.

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