Men's Soccer Narrowly Defeated on the Road

LEXINGTON, KENTUCKY - The Defiance College men's soccer team headed south on Saturday as they faced off with the Transylvania Pioneers on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets, coming off a thrilling double-OT victory were narrowly defeated by the hosts 2-1. 

Defiance came well prepared to take on the defending Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference champions as the sides were evenly matched during the first half of action. The Purple and Gold wasted no time putting pressure on the Pioneer defense, taking two shots and earning five corners within the first 10 minutes of action. 

After 45 minutes the sides were still scoreless, with the Yellow Jackets outshooting the Pioneers seven to five. Clay Musgrave (Upper Sandusky) was forced into two saves to keep the clean sheet alive as the sides headed into halftime. 

Coach Jordan Valentine's Yellow Jackets came out firing once again in the second half. In the 52nd minute Christian Meister (Ontario / Ontario) found the feet of Jarren Casto (Celina / Celina) who found the back of the net to give DC the 1-0 lead. 

Defiance defended their 1-0 lead until the 67th minute when Transy broke through to equalize the contest. The hosts continued to pressure the Yellow Jacket defense, putting seven shots on frame during the second period. DC was able to battle to a 1-1 scoreline until the 80th minute when Transy once again found the back of the net to take a 2-1 lead. 

The Yellow Jackets had a handful of chances while attempting to find an equalizer in the final 10 minutes. Casto and Adam Ordel (Lima / Elida) each got shots away that couldn't quite earn the second goal for the Purple and Gold. 

The defeat drops Defiance's record to 6-8 on the season with a 3-2 mark in HCAC play. The Yellow Jackets are next in action Wednesday, October 17 as they travel to Manchester for a 3:30 pm kickoff.