Defiance Shuts Out Spartans To Even HCAC Record

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Yellow Jackets' men's soccer team used a stellar defensive performance to defeat Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent Manchester College by a score of 2-0 on Wednesday afternoon.

Coming off a key HCAC victory on Saturday, DC was determined to keep the positive momentum going as it traveled to Manchester College.

The first half began with neither team finding a rhythm offensively, but just before the halftime whistle, senior Joe Loftis came up with his team leading fifth goal of the season to put the Jackets in front 1-0. Assisting on the play was fellow senior Kevin Elson. The goal gave Defiance the lead going into the break despite being outshot by the Spartans 7-3.

After the half, the Purple and Gold dug in defensively and stifled Manchester's attack. The Jackets' defense only allowed the Spartans to muster one shot in the entire second half.

In the 87th minute sophomore forward Jaiden Henderson put the game on ice when he scored his fourth goal on the year and gave DC a 2-0 advantage with only minutes remaining.

The win raises Defiance's conference record to 2-2 and its overall record to 4-8-1. The Yellow Jackets have now won their last two matches and three of its last four. This was DC's second shutout victory of the season.

The Jackets are next in action on Saturday, October 15 at 3:00 p.m. when they host HCAC foe Transylvania University. The game will be played at Matthew Winsper-Knobel Memorial Field.