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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Penton Flip
Jose Figueroa
1
Calvin CAL (5-4-0, 0-0-0)
3
Winner John Carroll JCU (6-2-2, 0-0-0)
Calvin CAL
(5-4-0, 0-0-0)
1
Final
3
John Carroll JCU
(6-2-2, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Calvin CAL 0 1 1
John Carroll JCU 2 1 3

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | JCUSID

Pranjeta Bags Two on Morgan's Message Night to Defeat Calvin

John Carroll Defeats Calvin for Mladenovic's 50th Win as a Head Coach

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – The floodgates burst open for John Carroll Men's Soccer at long last tonight.

After enduring back-to-back shutouts despite doing the right things, the Blue Streaks burst out for three goals in a fantastic victory over Calvin, 3-1, to close out non-conference play.

The conquest of Calvin marked JCU's first such decision over Calvin since 2007. 

The opening of the match was quite quiet. John Carroll had some buildups but the wrong touch here or there prevented any truly promising chances.

A corner kick in the 24th minute briefly portended promise for Calvin, but Brenden Moher – returning for his first match since September 5 – stepped in to punch the cross away.

"It felt great being back with the guys on the pitch", Moher said. "I mean Dom [Grobler] did a good job while I was out, but it always feels great to come out at home and get a good win against a good side in Calvin".

Immediately following that chance, the first subs checked into the match. The pitch slowly started to tilt towards John Carroll, though Calvin did place a shot right at Moher in the 32nd minute. 

Not long after that opportunity, the Blue Streaks counterpunched with sincerity. Nicholas Graeca dashed up the left side of the pitch with speed, enjoying plenty of green grass. The senior slotted a pass to Logan Penton, and the Vermillion native did the rest. The veteran dribbled through a pair of Knights and right-footed an absolute beaut for the game's first goal. 

The match looked destined to head into the half with a lone goal separating the squads. But the Knights would be sorely disappointed. 

With mere seconds left in the first half, Daniel Kalic ripped a free kick from near midfield. His boot found the head of Andrew Ruggiero. The senior tabbed it perfectly to Luka Pranjeta, who used his head to slot the ball into the low left corner of the net.

"I mean it felt amazing to score two goals against such a great opponent," said Luka Pranjeta. "I want to give a big shoutout to [Andrew] Ruggerio for finding me back post. It feels good to get my first goal this year".

The action continued at the start of the second half with Calvin cornerkicks in the 52nd and 53rd minute, one of which required a Moher save. The St. Edward grad again reacted well in the 58th minute to paw away another Calvin corner.

The Blue Streaks seemed to have secured an indomitable 3-0 lead in the 60th minute on another gorgeous ball sent in by Kalic. But the referee called an offsides, keeping the advantage at two goals. 

Calvin tried to counter, getting a couple corners in the 71st minute. But John Carroll's dominance shone through soon enough.

In the 80th minute, Jaden Wright took advantage of the Calvin defense and lofted a magnificent throw ahead to Pranjeta. The Willoughby South grad roared ahead and dashed up the left side, alone with the keeper. The sophomore beat the goalie with a great shot and sent the hosts ahead 3-0.

No doubt infuriated by the large deficit, the Knights roared back and found twine just one minute and 10 seconds later. Calvin kept the pressure up, going all out to try and pull off the miracle. The Knights did have some promising opportunities, but Moher and the Streaks held firm, including with a great save in the 89th minute. 

And as the clock struck zeros, the Blue Streak won in their last game of non-conference play of the season. With the win at home, it became Dejan Mladenovic's 50th win as a head coach. 

"To be honest, I did realize that I was at 50 wins," Mladenovic commented. "For me, it is not about me at all, especially my individual accolades. Instead, it is about the team, and especially the players within the program. So I want to thank them for getting our coaching staff to that threshold. But at the end of the day, it is all about them."

In the win, both teams put 9 shots toward the direction of the goalies, but Calvin had 5 shots on net compared to JCU's 4 shots. With the win, the Blue Streaks improve to 6-2-2 on the season. 


Next Up
The Blue Streaks will have a chance to enjoy tonight's win. John Carroll will be off until Saturday, October 5 and the start of Ohio Athletic Conference play at Muskingum. 
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