Men’s Soccer Ends DC Classic Tournament Undefeated

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Yellow Jackets showed no fatigue from their double-overtime match on Saturday, as they defeated Thiel College, 2-1, Sunday afternoon in the DC Classic Tournament finale. After a slow start in the first half, DC was in control for most of the game behind a disciplined defense and an opportunistic offense.

The Jackets didn't take a shot for the first 30 minutes of the match, but controlled the tempo from the start with deliberate ball movement and a defense that worked as a cohesive unit. Defiance took a 1-0 lead into halftime after junior midfielder, Joseph Loftis, was fouled inside the penalty area at the 41-minute mark, and capitalized on the penalty kick with a rope to the back of the net.

Freshman forward, Mike Kern, made it a 2-0 lead for Defiance when he connected off a feed from Jaiden Henderson midway through the second period. The two-goal cushion lasted for only three minutes however, as Thiel's Rory Duncan benefitted off a nice pass from fellow Tomcat, Francis Ahia, to cut the lead back to one.

From that point, the Defiance defense clamped down and kept the Tomcats off the scoreboard for the remainder of the contest to preserve the lead and keep a zero in the loss column.

The Yellow Jackets will get two days off before returning to Winsper-Knobel Field for a game against Olivet College on Wednesday, September 8, at 4:00 p.m.