Yellow Jackets fall short in 2OT

NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind - A late goal in double overtime gave Manchester University the edge over the Defiance College men's soccer team on Wednesday evening. The loss is the first for the Yellow Jackets on the season.

Noah Svanberg put the visiting Yellow Jackets ahead 25 minutes into the first half when the sophomore corralled a corner kick and booted it past the Spartan's keeper. Svanberg's goal is his first of the season after netting five in his freshman campaign in 2019.

His goal was the only one of the first half as both defenses limited their opponents to just a pair of shots.

A few minutes into the second half, the Spartans notched a goal of their own to draw even at 1-1. The goal was the first surrendered by the Yellow Jackets this season. However, the tie only lasted about six minutes as senior Jarren Casto found the back of the net off a pass from Nick Stifel following a Spartan foul. Casto's goal is his third in as many games while Stifel's assist is his first of the season.

Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, the Spartan's offense came to life in the second half, outshooting the visitors 10-2 and tying the game with a goal in the final ten minutes of play to force overtime. The Manchester offensive attack continued into overtime, where they outshot the Purple and Gold 5-0 with the final shot being the game-winning goal in the closing minutes of the match.

Casto's second-half goal brings his career point total to 44 and into a three-way tie for second place in program history with Karl Eustache (2004-06) and Christian Meister (2015-18). Nick Kleptz (2014-17) is the current career leader with 46 points.

Orry Killam got the start in net and recorded a save, The sophomore's record drops to 1-1 on the season with the loss.

Both Defiance and Manchester are now 2-1 on the season. The Yellow Jackets will return to action on Sunday afternoon at Hanover with the match set to get underway at 3:30 p.m.