Peter Wangechi

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

9/5/2024 4:47:00 PM | By: Gianluca DiGiacomo, Staff Writer

Blue Streaks Looking to Bounce Back at Don Shula Stadium Tonight

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS – The nonstop nature of the early stages of the soccer season continues to shine through with another two matches in a 72 hour-span for the Blue Streaks. This follows an extremely difficult loss to their foes from Gambier. Now, Wenzler's Warriors step up to an opponent that has been a thorn in their side time and time again.

From Wasmer Field at Don Shula Stadium, John Carroll wants to get their season back on track with Carnegie Mellon University chugging along with a draw and a win in their first two matches.

Meet the Opposition: Carnegie Mellon Tartans

Form
Entering their third match of the season, the Tartans have started their season off fairly well. With their opener being a 1-1 draw over York away from home, the team bounced back in their home opener with a comfortable 3-1 victory over Gettysburg. Now, the squad looks John Carroll's way, looking for revenge after a 1-0 defeat in Pittsburgh last year courtesy of a Jaden Wright header in the first four minutes of open play.

Despite a record well over .500 for much of the last few years, the team has struggled in UAA play, only winning four matches in-conference and not picking up a single win last year. Given the extreme competition in the UAA, however, the numbers do not do justice to the quality the Tartans possess, which starts in the foundation of their coaching staff.

Meet the Coaching Staff
Head Coach Brandon Bowman enters his tenth season at the helm of the Tartans' men's soccer program this year. With a 89-47-24 record to date with the team, Bowman has guided the squad to four national tournament appearances including a Top-25 finish after the 2018 season.

Bowman has been all around the horn in his coaching career, starting his tenure as an assistant for the men's and women's programs at Miami University (OH) from 1998-2000, one season at Elmira College, and then having the bulk of his career at Lexington FC at the club level and Transylvania University at the collegiate level. While at Transylvania, Bowman received four conference Coach of the Year awards and achieved a cumulative 168-39-31 record from 2002-2013.

Assistant coaches for the Tartans include the likes of Ross Macklin (3rd year) and Spencer Wolfe (1st year).

Team Style/Ones to Watch
The Tartans stick to a very technical, short combination-oriented style of play with full maximization of the width of the field—emphasizing build-up play and quick changes in tempo. Although there are noticeable trends in their play, the squad does change quite a bit with each opponent in terms of playstyle.

"The team is picking up our style of play quickly," remarked Head Coach Brandon Bowman. "We are looking to improve it with each game we step on the field."

With only two matches played on the year so far, senior attacker Jake Kavan is already making an impact with the Tartans, notching a brace in their most recent game with a 3-1 victory over Gettysburg. The striker links up well with many of his colleagues up top and can create chances out of very bleak circumstances. Midfielders such as the Daejeon-native Chris Lee and winger Rohan Dhingra's dynamic, shifty presence also bring their own styles to each chance in the final third.

The most important facet of this Tartans team is their back line. Being a team that loves to build methodically from the back, it is no secret that the squad needs great ball-playing defenders and fullbacks that can easily join the midfield to fill up the gaps. With experienced players such as Diedrik Schlingemann, Eli Kampine, and Brendan Schonwetter, the Blue Streaks will have to pull some strings to make things happen up top.

Your John Carroll Blue Streaks

Form
It was a topsy-turvy first weekend for John Carroll last week, and much of the team's foreseeable momentum lies in their performance tonight. After a resounding 2-0 win over Oberlin away from University Heights, the team had their work cut out for them back at Don Shula against #19 Kenyon College.
Despite a really solid outing on the pitch, the team fell short thanks to a putback in the 83rd minute from Kenyon's Alem Duratovic to edge out the 1-0 win.

"I was really proud of the way we played. A national-tournament level performance on September 1st is not easy to come by. But we missed chances we shouldn't have and left the wrong guy open at the wrong time," remarked Dejan Mladenovic.

The team's tread through out-of-conference action does not get easier after this, and it is imperative the Blue Streaks come out firing on all cylinders.

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 45-16-7 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
The Blue Streaks possess a team of great depth and intensity, but we have yet to see their best play as the team continues to find ways to gel with each other. Winger Jaden Wright will be one to watch as he looks to make a name for himself against the Tartans similar to last season. After a couple quiet shifts to open up the season, Carnegie Mellon will have to keep tabs on the explosive winger to avoid disaster.

The leadership of the squad is matched equally with talent this year, and for the first time in program history captaincy will be split between graduate student fullback Izac Coleman and senior midfielder Nicholas Graeca.

Coleman comes into this season winning All-Conference honors for each season as a Blue Streak alongside Freshmen of the Year honors in 2021, All-Region, All-State, and Third Team All-American status during his 2022 season. Coleman's leadership and versatility on the left hand flank makes him one to watch in his final season.

Graeca on the other hand has also gotten his hands on a fair share of awards, including two All-OAC honors and All-Ohio honors. Graeca is known largely as the engine of the squad; never seeming to run out of energy not only physically, but also in his leadership and charisma on the pitch. Graeca looks to build off of his eight goals and ten assists throughout the last two seasons.

Plenty of other stars will be finding their footing, and with a great rotation of personnel at Mladenovic's disposal, only time will tell how this game ends up.

Matchup History
It has been a gritty couple of matchups between these two teams in recent memory. Last time out at Don Shula Stadium in 2022, the Tartans barely notched out a win as Brandon Schonwetter capitalized on a tap-in off of a corner kick with just eight seconds left on the clock for a 1-0 victory.

Last season in Pittsburgh, Jaden Wright scored in the fourth minute off of a Hayden Haffner cross to give John Carroll a stellar lead. The team held on for the final 86 minutes of carnage and defeated Carnegie Mellon for the first time since 2003, and their first win in Pittsburgh since 1987.

Here are some quick facts about the historical matchup:

The Blue Streaks are 8-12-5 in all competitions against Carnegie Mellon
The win in Pittsburgh over the Tartans last season marked the first victory in the matchup since 2003
Last year's win also marked the first win over the Tartans in Pittsburgh since 1987
Carnegie Mellon won the first seven matchups between the two
Last matchup at Don Shula Stadium saw Carnegie Mellon score off of a corner with eight seconds left
The Blue Streaks are 3-9-3 at home (winning in 1980, 1983, 1984)
Blue Streaks looking for their first win over the Tartans at Don Shula since 1984

Up Next
For John Carroll, it will be yet another quick turnaround for Wenzler's Warriors as they will be on the road on Saturday to head to Carl Dale Field at The College of Wooster for a 1:00 p.m. kickoff against their soon-to-be conference foes.

For the Tartans, they pick back up on Sunday at home against Westminster College with a 4:30 p.m. kickoff time.

Where to Follow
Coverage of John Carroll University vs. Carnegie Mellon University will be streamed at OAC TV and jcusports.com, with coverage coming on the @jcusports X and Instagram accounts.

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