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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Andrew Massucci at Carnegie Mellon
Benjy Szucs, Yellow Lab Studios
3
Winner John Carroll JCU (5-2-1)
2
Penn St.-Behrend BEHM (3-3-1)
Winner
John Carroll JCU
(5-2-1)
3
Final
2
Penn St.-Behrend BEHM
(3-3-1)
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
John Carroll JCU 0 3 3
Penn St.-Behrend BEHM 1 1 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Gianluca DiGiacomo, Senior Staff Writer

Late-Game Hysterics Secure Massive Come-From-Behind Win for Men’s Soccer

Andrew Massucci Scores With Just 36 Seconds Left on the Clock

ERIE, Pa. – With the last of their away matches in Pennsylvania inbound, the John Carroll Blue Streaks traveled away for the second consecutive match as they laced their boots against Penn State Behrend.

Following a brutal 3-0 defeat to Carnegie Mellon on Saturday, the Blue and Gold had their sights set on redeeming themselves before heading back home for senior night festivities this coming Saturday.

Tonight's matchup rekindled what has historically been a fierce matchup between the two programs, with each of the last three matches being a one-goal game, the most notable being the Lions knocking out the Blue Streaks from the NCAA Tournament in the second round in University Heights in 2018. Their most recent matchup was a 1-0 win for John Carroll in 2022.

After a fierce battle, the John Carroll Blue Streaks prevailed in heartstopping fashion, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2, courtesy of a goal with 36 seconds left from Andrew Massucci.

The Blue Streaks had some odds stacked against them from the get-go, missing four starters in goalkeeper Brenden Moher and attacking midfield talent in Luka Pranjeta, Harley Forkins, and Rafa De La Barrera due to injury.

John Carroll had a promising chance just two and half minutes in, Gui Wanderley having a crack from distance as it hit the top of the crossbar to give Penn State Behrend a proper scare to kick things off. Things looked good to start for the visitors, until they didn't.

It did not take long for the Lions to establish their position, as the fifth minute hit, they caught the Blue Streaks' back line napping as a displaced back four left space for Reilly Nickles to slip a ball through to Cole Thomas, who had plenty of space to slip it underneath a rushing Owen Szucs. Penn State Behrend had John Carroll right where they wanted them in such little time.

At first, the Blue Streaks gave little resistance back, getting some quality time on the ball but not getting in any menacing positions. The Lions continued to create chaos off of counter attacks, with Cole Thomas creating another great chance on the left hand flank but floating it just over the bar in the 18th minute.
The home team continued their onslaught, in the 22nd minute Nate Coleman getting a good look and forcing a massive save from Owen Szucs, coming up big on more than one occasion in his collegiate debut.

About a quarter of the way through the match, the Blue Streaks began finding their footing again, creating some shots in the 26th and 28th minute.

The Blue Streaks' first breakthrough opportunity came in the 33rd minute, with a free kick played through on the left hand side of the box and squared to Andrew Massucci. The senior made a good turn with his back turned to goal and fired a shot off the bottom of the crossbar, leaving it reverberating for a few seconds afterwards. The danger was averted, but a seed was planted to get the team to keep pushing forward.

The rest of the half saw John Carroll pick up steam slowly but surely, going into the half trailing, but growing confident in what they had going.

Both teams seemed to come out with a renewed sense of energy in the second half, with the tempo faster than what was seen for most of the first half. Matt Hribar gave the Blue Streaks a decent chance five minutes in, impressively maneuvering through a handful of defenders with a shot straight at the keeper.

The strong foundation John Carroll had built in the later stages of the first half was quickly wiped away, however. In the 56th minute, the Lions doubled their advantage.

A long throw on the outer right channel took a big bounce over a defender. Noah Schmidt tapped it away, but the stray ball fell to Nate Coleman, who curled a ball into the net from an improbable angle. Wenzler's Warriors were down, but not out.

The Lions kept it pushing, in the 60th minute with another promising shot punched away by Szucs. Just a few minutes later, the Blue Streaks would find a lifeline.

As the 68th minute rolled around, some quick one-touch passes resulted in Sava Crnjak pressing forward with options ahead. The sophomore connected with Dylan Halm on a through ball, who took a few light touches before slotting it home past Anthony Scalise. It was now 2-1, and some hope was injected into Deki's army.

The Lions almost found a way to stomp out another rush of momentum, a beautiful played low cross into the box found Reilly Nickles just in front of the penalty spot, but Nickles couldn't get over it and sent it over the bar.

A golden opportunity that ought to haunt the host team, as this is when the match began to take a turn.

Shortly after, John Carroll began peppering high-quality shots at the Lions—each passing minute giving John Carroll a more dangerous look. In the 78th minute, Wanderley tried his luck from 30 yards out and just curled the ball wide left. Three minutes later, John Carroll maintained pressure in the 18-yard box and found Crnjak on the left hand side, getting a shot off-balance with a good save.

Not even a minute later, Crnjak sent in a cross towards the back post, getting contact on the head of a John Carroll player. Defender Patrick Bohan sprinted into the box and fired a half volley towards goal, where Behrend keeper Anthony Scalise came up big with another save. Dylan Halm followed up with a shot of his own, but Scalise interrupted again. The sophomore keeper was coming up big, but he and his men were facing some monumental pressure. The Lions held on for dear life, but John Carroll had no intentions of slowing down.

With four minutes remaining, John Carroll sent a ball into the box. A series of botched clearances from the Lions ensued, with the last of them falling straight to the Brazilian Gui Wanderley, taking a control touch forward and toe-poking it from the top of the box into the top left corner. Chaos ensued as Wanderley sprinted towards the sideline to celebrate with his bench.

John Carroll began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, but could they reach it with such little time left?

Penn State Behrend's mentality went from the composed state they were seen in for the better part of 86 minutes, to a state of shock and self-preservation. Now the pressure was really on in a comeback they came from what seemed like nothing.

The Lions would launch the ball up the pitch a few more times, but their efforts were futile as John Carroll thwarted each chance.

With just above 90 seconds on the clock, John Carroll progressed forward for what could have been one last time. As Andrew Massucci received the ball and shed a tackle, a mistimed challenged prompted the official to point to the penalty spot.

John Carroll's golden opportunity was right in front of them, and the team left it in the hands of Gui Wanderley.

Wanderley looked calm as he walked up to take the penalty, with fans on both sides of the ball holding their breath. The go-ahead whistle came from the referee, and Wanderley took one final look at the ball as he composed himself.

Wanderley's shot floated towards the top right corner, but so did the outstretched glove of Anthony Scalise, punching it away and sending a huge punch to the gut for the Blue Streaks. John Carroll didn't stew in it, however, and a ball went out for a corner kick, 44 seconds left on the clock.

Sophomore Dylan Halm sent a ball in at the backdoor, and Bohan would head it back into harm's way. A few chaotic touches later, Andrew Massucci turned towards goal and fired a shot into the back of the net. Massucci was met with chaos in the corner as every single body in navy blue was in motion on the sideline. Sweet disposition as John Carroll secured the heist of the century.

The final seconds ticked away, and John Carroll could marvel in the moment, a 90-minute spell that was certainly on the precipice of one of the greatest nights of John Carroll soccer on the road that the program has ever seen.

Three unique goalscorers, a huge morale win on the road, and senior Andrew Massucci has his fourth goal on the season, all of which being attributed to the game-winning category.

"I'm so proud of how the boys battled tonight," remarked Head Coach Dejan Mladenovic. "We still have a lot to clean up to get to where we want to go, but we never gave up against a quality team being down two goals on the road. We learn from our mistakes and build off of the positives."

Next Up
The Blue Streaks will be back in action at Don Shula Stadium this Saturday against Lycoming College for senior night, the first men's soccer game live on Rock Entertainment Sports Network for a 5:05 p.m. kickoff.
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