Yellow Jackets men’s soccer shutout by RHIT in HCAC action

TERRA HAUTE, Ind. – It was a tough day for Defiance soccer on Saturday, October 12. A few hours after the women's squad was topped, 3-0, by the Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers, the DC men's soccer team fell by the same score in the second contest of the afternoon.

The Yellow Jackets dropped below .500 with the defeat and sit at 6-7 (1-2 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference). Rose moved into the top spot in the conference with a 6-4-2 (3-0 HCAC) record.

It was a struggle to put shots on the net for the Purple and Gold on Saturday. The Fightin' Engineers drew up a defensive scheme that completely shut down the DC attack, as it didn't even register its first shot until the 21st minute.

In that same minute, Rose notched its first goal of the day, when Drew Belk headed in score to go up 1-0.

However, shots were tough to come by for either team during the rest of the first period and Defiance headed into intermission down only one score.

The Jackets put a little pressure on RHIT early in the second half, as they notched a pair of kicks from the corner less than eight minutes in. However, neither attempt led to a shot at the net by DC, who just could not get anything going near the goal.

Rose then pulled away in the match with two goals less than six minutes apart that made it 3-0. The Engineer's Belk poked in his second score on the day in the 73rd minute and then William Senat recorded the other at the 78:37 mark.

Defiance failed to get any more shots from there on out and the conference leading Rose-Hulman Fightin' Engineers came up with the big home victory.

RHIT dominated in shots on the afternoon, racking up 15 (nine on goal) to the Yellow Jackets four (one on goal). Senior Luke Freels (Ludlow Falls, Ohio/Milton Union) led DC with two of their attempts at the net and senior goalie Sean Roberts (Canal Winchester, Ohio/Canal Winchester) recorded six saves.

The Purple and Gold will return home for its next match on Tuesday, October 15, when it will battle the Spartans of Manchester. The match is slated for 4 pm out at Winsper-Knobel Memorial Field.