Women’s soccer closes season at Mount St. Joseph

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Defiance Yellow Jackets were defeated 8-0 by the Mount St. Joseph Lions on Wednesday to conclude the 2023 season for the women's soccer program.

The Yellow Jackets finished the campaign 2-12-2 and 0-8 in HCAC games (officially 0-9 in conference play), while MSJ closed the regular season 11-5-2 and secured the second seed in the HCAC Tournament with an 8-1 conference record. With Defiance departing the HCAC and Division III at the end of the academic year, DC women's soccer welcomes a change of scenery after losses in the team's last 38 league tilts.

In Wednesday's match, Mount St. Joseph posted five goals in the first half. The first three came during a flurry of a five-minute stretch starting in the 14th minute with Haley Trittschuh's third goal of the season. McKenzie Schneeman's team-high eighth goal came two minutes later followed by Mary Anhofer in the 19th minute, which was set up on a pass by Alondra Sotelo for her second assist of the game. The Lions added two more goals set up by Schneeman as Paige Adams and Layla Toutsler split the pipes during minutes 27 and 34. In the second half, the Lions scored their first goal of the second 45 from Kerigan Pollard just 2:35 into the half. After Trittschuh's second goal of the game in minute 51, Pollard netted her second goal during the 62nd minute.

For the game, Defiance was outshot 59-0 while MSJ put 33 on frame. DC keeper Sarah O'Shea stopped 25 shots, a game-high for 2023 in her final start for the Yellow Jackets. For the season, O'Shea's 194 saves and 433 career stops are the third-best marks in DC women's soccer history for a single season and career, respectively. On corner kicks, MSJ took all 15 in the game.

DC started the season 2-0 but fell in 12 of the last 14 matches of the season, including two ties that put the squad at 2-2-2 through six games. The 8-0 loss was the seventh straight shutout loss to close the campaign. 

Defiance's 30th season of women's soccer in 2024 will begin a new era for the program next fall with competition at the NAIA level.

-JACKETS-