UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — Wabash erased an early three-goal deficit and tied the match late in the first quarter, but the Little Giants could not sustain the momentum in a 17-10 road loss to John Carroll Saturday afternoon in the North Coast Athletic Conference opener and the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Wabash (2-6, 0-1 NCAC) battled back from an early three-goal deficit to tie the contest late in the first quarter but could not keep pace with the Blue Streaks' offensive efficiency and possession advantage over the final three periods. John Carroll (1-3, 1-0 NCAC) outshot Wabash 48-29 and controlled ground balls by a 47-26 margin to dictate the tempo.
John Carroll scored the game's first three goals, getting strikes from Braden Zarek (12:14), Sean Hogan (11:34), and Lombardo (10:18) to take a 3-0 lead midway through the opening quarter. Wabash responded with a strong offensive run, beginning with Will Sorg's goal off an assist from Sam Santiago at 8:54.
Jake Pippen fueled the rally with back-to-back goals, including finishes at 7:18 and 6:41, the latter assisted by Santiago to tie the score at 3-3. After John Carroll regained the lead on a man-up goal by Larry Voss, Pippen struck again at 4:43 off a pass from Zach McMichael to knot the score at 4-4.
The Blue Streaks closed the quarter with a man-up goal from Lombardo at 2:59 to take a 5-4 lead and carried that momentum into the second period.
John Carroll took control in the second quarter, outscoring Wabash 4-0. Goals by Richard Moran (12:25), Lombardo (7:20 and 5:33), and Voss (0:10) extended the lead to 9-4 at halftime.
The Blue Streaks continued their run in the third period, scoring the first two goals to push the margin to 11-4. Wabash broke the drought when McMichael scored unassisted at 8:02, but John Carroll answered with three more goals, including a man-up tally by William Dunn, to take a 13-5 advantage into the final quarter.
John Carroll added two more goals early in the fourth to stretch the lead to 15-5 before Wabash mounted a late push. Evan Bair, Grayson McCallum, and Christian Dybedock each scored during a three-goal run, with Dybedock converting a man-up opportunity off an assist from Santiago to cut the deficit to 15-8.
The Blue Streaks halted the surge with goals from Moran and Billy Paladino before Sorg and Bair closed out the scoring for Wabash with late goals in the final 1:31.
Pippen led the Little Giants with three goals on five shots, while Bair and Sorg added two goals apiece. McMichael finished with a goal and an assist, and Dybedock and McCallum each contributed a goal. Santiago paced Wabash with three assists.
Lombardo led all players with six goals on 17 shots for John Carroll. Voss added three goals, while Moran recorded two goals and an assist. Zarek and Dunn each scored twice as the Blue Streaks placed seven different players in the scoring column.
Colin Krekeler made 15 saves in goal for Wabash, facing 32 shots on goal. John Carroll goalkeeper Devin Holder recorded 10 saves.
John Carroll also held advantages in key possession metrics, winning 18 of 31 faceoffs and converting 3-of-5 extra-man opportunities compared to Wabash's 1-of-3 performance.
Wabash returns to action Wednesday at 4 p.m. with a non-conference home contest against Illinois Wesleyan University.
