DC Remains Unbeaten in Conference Play With Tie at Earlham

RICHMOND, Ind. – The Defiance men's soccer team scored a late goal on a header by junior Evan Allen that led to a 1-1 draw with the Earlham Quakers on Wednesday, October 3. It was the Jackets second road match in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play, as DC remains at 1-10-1 (1-0-1 HCAC) with Earlham going to 2-7-2 (0-0-2).

In the first period, the Quakers got off to a decent start by registering four of the first five shots in the match. Neither teams attack truly got going though, as it was a defensive battle through the first 45 minutes with the game was knotted at zero.

However, Earlham came out of the break with a sense of urgency and struck fast, as the Quakers Evan Elko chipped in a goal three minutes into the second period putting the home team up one nil.

Like many games this season, once DC had fallen behind, it was hard for the team to overcome. Not in this game though. The Yellow Jackets responded with a barrage of four shots and three corner kicks over the next seven minutes to put the pressure back on Earlham.

As the offensive attack on the Quakers continued, Defiance finally broke the Earlham defense when Evan Allen headed in a score during the 77th minute. It was his first goal on the season and a big one it was, as the game was now squared up at one.

Neither team was then able to make anything happen on offense, as the HCAC foes went into overtime. Just as the game had gone earlier, the defenses dominated with each team only chalking up one shot at the net in two extra periods, as the squads walked off the field with a tie.

For positives on the day, the Jackets scored a goal in their third straight game after only notching three in their first nine matches. Also, DC was 7-for-8 in shots on goal for an .875 percentage, which was its highest on the year.

Defiance will return home for action Saturday, October 6, when they take on the Fightin' Engineers of Rose-Hulman. The game is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.