Defiance Loses in Heartbreaking Fashion Against MSJ

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College men's soccer team suffered a blow to its Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference playoff opportunity on Saturday in a thrilling 3-2 overtime defeat to Mount St. Joseph.

The game opened up with free-flowing play from both sides in the first half, as each team had goal scoring opportunities that it was unable to capitalize. The match went into the break in a scoreless deadlock at 0-0. The shot total at the end of the first half was an even 9-9.

The Lions wasted little time after the intermission in finding the game's first goal as Timothy Pope scored in the half's first minute to give The Mount a 1-0 advantage.

Just six minutes after grabbing the lead, MSJ struck again as Christopher Corbett scored his team leading sixth goal of the season when his shot deflected off a Jacket defender and past the goalie for a 2-0 lead.

After going down 2-0, DC showed great resilience and got one of the goals back in the 71st minute when freshman forward Kevin Arriola scored his third goal of the year. Yellow Jackets' forward Jaiden Henderson had his shot deflect off the post and Arriola was there to put the rebound into the back of the net.

Four minutes later Defiance struck again with an equalizing goal for freshman midfielder Phil Weirich. This time it was Evan Allen who had his shot stopped by the Lions' keeper only to have the freshman calmly slot the ball into the goal to make it a 2-2 contest. The goal is Weirich's first career goal as a Yellow Jacket.

Both teams traded possession and shots for the remainder of the period but neither was able to find the gamewinner. The score at the end of regulation was tied at 2-2.

Defiance and MSJ both fought in the overtime session but could not convert the final strike both teams were searching for. It appeared as though the game would end in a draw when a Lion forward broke into the box and was brought down before registering in a shot resulting in a penalty kick with under a minute remaining. The Lions' Lee Rodgers steadily placed the kick in the net for the 3-2 victory.

The loss moves Defiance's HCAC record to 2-3-2 with only two matches remaining. The Jackets' next match is at home on Wednesday, October 26 against Bluffton College.