TIFFIN -- "One team. One squad."

The motto the No. 20 Heidelberg University men's soccer team, coined years ago, was exemplified perfectly on Tuesday afternoon. Thanks in large part to the cheers from its bench and an exuberant crowd at Hidden Valley, HU pulled off the upset victory over No. 4 John Carroll University, 3-2.

The Berg improves to 9-0-0 (2-0-0) as the Blue Streaks suffer their first loss, dropping to 9-1-1 (1-1-0).

Heidelberg struck first, less than six minutes into the match. Garrett McAfee played a beautiful through ball from behind midfield to Rodrigo Meza. Meza beat the JCU line and rifled a shot into the lower left 90 for a quick Student Prince lead.

In the 37th minute, freshman Cory Gilbert doubled the home team's lead off a corner kick. Senior Alexis Mendoza served a corner into the box, allowing Gilbert to barely get a foot on it. The light touch was all that was needed to push HU up by two.

The Blue Streaks had an answer to Gilbert's goal less than a minute later. A ball played into the box from Eric Rozsits found Jesse Marinaro to cut the lead to 2-1 at the half.

Early in the second half, Gilbert struck again for his team-leading sixth goal of the season. The freshman got ahold of the ball and danced around a JCU defender for an open look. The Brunswick native chipped the ball over the keeper's head to extend the lead back to two goals.

John Carroll remained poised, netting a second goal three minutes later. Jared Ianiro headed a ball off a corner kick from Brian Lutz.

Undaunted, the Student Princes kept their composure, led by the back third of McAfee, Chase Paulson, Anthony Raimondo, and Porus Shroff.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Keeper Jake Kress remained steady between the pipes, despite taking hard hits and facing tough shots. The junior tallied five saves in the victory. JCU keeper Liam McIntosh kept the visitors in the game the whole match, making clutch saves down the stretch.

The last time Heidelberg defeated a ranked opponent at home came in 2015 when they defeated No. 25 Ohio Northern.

QUOTES FROM THE COACH

"I loved the effort and energy displayed by my guys today," said head coach Pat Svihlik. "The togetherness and the belief to buy into the game plan and executing it was well done."

Svihlik on the win overall: "I'm so happy for my guys … They beat a very tough and extremely well-coached team."

UP NEXT

The Berg remains at home for a Saturday afternoon matchup with Mount Union (4-5, 0-1 OAC). Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.