Defiance Shut Down By Manchester (Ind.)

DEFIANCE, OHIO- The Defiance men's soccer team was shutout by Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent Manchester (Ind.) Universtiy, 5-0, in the conference home opener at Winsper-Knoble Memorial Field. 

The Yellow Jackets (4-7, 0-2 HCAC) had crisp passes and mutliple scoring opportunities throughout the night, but would not get any past the Manchester netminder. The Spartans (4-5-1, 1-1 HCAC) scored their first goal of the night at the 14:27 minute mark. They answered again less than two minutes later with goal number two to extend the margin to 2-0. Leading in shots for DC in the first half was freshman Henok Jones (Georgetown, Ind./Floyd Central) with four. Following Jones was freshman Josiah Nichols (Weston/Bowling Green), who produced three shots. Sophomore Mark Williams (Plain City/Jonathan Alder) and freshman Colin Jones (Fort Wayne, Ind./Northrop) each had one shot a piece. Freshman Adam Ordel (Lima/Elida) had the best scoring chance for the Jackets in the opening period with a penalty kick just before the end of the half, but missed wide, keeping the deficit at two goals. The Jackets went into the locker rooms trialing, 2-0. 

The second half started out quickly for the Spartans when they found the back of the net just 48 seconds in, marking their third tally. Nichols produced two more shots that both sailed high, totalling five shots for the night. Henok Jones had two back-to-back shots that were both saved by the goalkeepr. Junior Trevor Hester (Liberty City/Monclova Christian Academy) took a shot wide at the 57:19 mark. Williams produced a shot on goal that was saved by the goalkeeper at the 59:04 minute mark. Junior Brian Kurtz (Sandusky/Perkins)  took a headshot that landed in the hands of the keeper at the 67:26 mark. Colin Jones took the last shot for the Jackets in tonight's match and it missed high. Meanwhile, the Spartans continuted to pull away with their final two scores coming at the 64:42 and 87:23 minute marks, en route to the final score of 5-0. 

In goal for this afternoon's matchup was junior Damien Koester (Englewood/Brookville). He played the entire 90 minutes in net. Koester earned five saves and allowed five goals against. 

The Yellow Jackets will be hosting conference opponent Franklin (Ind.) College at Winsper-Knobel Field on Saturday (Oct. 10) at 3:30 p.m.