Men's soccer defeats Franklin to advance to HCAC Semifinals

The Defiance men's soccer team defeated Franklin by a score of 4-2 on Saturday night to advance to Heartland Colligate Athletic Conference Semifinals. The win is the Yellow Jackets' first playoff victory since they defeated Manchester 2-1 in the HCAC Semifinals on November 4, 2003.

The Basics

• Records: #5 Defiance (10-11, 4-5), #4 Franklin (7-9-1, 5-3-1)
• Location: Faught Stadium - Franklin, Ind.
• Attendance: 313

Inside The Numbers

• Junior Joshua Maurer led the Yellow Jackets with a pair of goals off three shots.
• Senior Chase Stiner assisted on both of Maurer's goals and added a goal of his own.
• Junior Orry Killam made three saves to earn the win.
• Four Grizzlies tied for the team lead with two shots apiece.
• Franklin goalkeeper Elliott Clark made four saves.

The Difference

• The duo of Maurer and Stiner connect twice in the first 21 minutes of play to give the Yellow Jackets a 2-0 lead.
• Stiner extended the lead to 3-0 with a goal in the 27th minute.
• Less than three minutes later Franklin's Thomas Samuel converted a penalty kick to cut the lead to 3-1.
• Freshman Jack Stanoikovich gave the Yellow Jackets so breathing room with his third goal of the season in the 58th minute.
• Franklin cut the deficit to 4-2 in the 85th minute thanks to a Van Lian goal but it was not enough to defeat the Purple and Gold.

Notes and Records

• His two goal-effort tonight gives Maurer seven goals on the season, tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history. They also bring his point total to 15 which ties Noah Svanberg for the team lead and ties Svanberg and three others for 10th most in a season.
• Senior Jacob Rygula extends his career games played record to 76.
• The victory gives the team 10 on the season, tying the 2013 and 2002 squads for second-most in team history.

Up Next

• The Yellow Jackets will hit the road to face top seed Rose-Hulman on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. in the HCAC Semifinals