Yellow Jackets Defeat the Spartans, 3-1

N. MANCHESTER, IND. – The Defiance College men's soccer team traveled to North Manchester, Ind. to compete against Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Manchester (Ind.) University and earned the road win by a score of 3-1.

Defiance (3-9-1, 1-1 HCAC) dominated Manchester (4-7, 0-2 HCAC) on shots for the afternoon with six in the first half and 13 in the second totaling 19 compared to Manchester's eight.

Freshman midfielder Mark Williams (Plain City/Johnathon Alder) led the Yellow Jackets in the first half with three shots. Freshman forward Anthony Ewing (Dayton/Northmont), sophomore midfielder Victor Trifiro (Akron/Walsh Jesuit) and senior midfielder Drew Metz (Northwood/Lake) all added one shot a piece. The Yellow Jackets came up empty-handed and the score remained 0-0 going into halftime.

After intermission, DC kept the Manchester defense in check. Senior forward Ashten Forde (Euclid), Ewing, Metz, and Trifiro all had shots that missed the mark before junior midfielder Jayson Long (Columbus/Thomas Worthington) found the back of the net off of an assist from senior defender Ian Fasnacht (Strongsville/Padua Franciscan) at the 74:30 minute mark.

Long's goal opened the flood gates and the Yellow Jackets scored two more times all within ten minutes. The first came at the 78:53 mark when Trifiro had a solo attempt that got past the Spartan goalie. The second was at the 84:23 mark when freshman defender Nick Kleptz (Troy) scored off of an assist from junior midfielder Jordan Drake (Maumee/Springfield), which allowed the Yellow Jackets to take the lead 3-0 with six minutes left in regulation.

The Spartans retaliated and scored at the 86:01 mark, making the score 3-1.

Three goals late in the second half proved to be too much for the Spartans and the Yellow Jackets upset the home team, 3-1.

In the net for the Yellow Jackets, sophomore goalie Damian Koester (Englewood/Brookville) ended the game with three saves.

The Purple and Gold look to continue their winning ways when they travel to Franklin, Ind. on Oct. 11 to face Franklin (Ind.) College in a HCAC matchup. The game is scheduled to start at 6 p.m.