Yellow Jackets shake off early score to beat Concordia for second straight win

DEFIANCE, Ohio – Defiance College men's soccer notched a 4-2 victory over Concordia Ann Arbor on Wednesday for the club's first home win of the year at Winsper Knobel Field.

The Yellow Jackets' (2-3) second straight win was in comeback fashion after the Cardinals (1-4-1) snuck the first goal of the game past DC's Orry Killam just 90 seconds into the contest while Joshua Maurer accounted for a pair of goals for the Jackets. Griffin Meyer assisted two of Defiance's scores and also netted the final goal of the contest, the first of his collegiate career.

Concordia took the early advantage in the first half by stealing a backward pass from the Jackets and Bryce Schaner zig-zagged through four defenders in the box to get a left-footed boot through the pipes in the second minute. The equalizer from Defiance came nearly 10 minutes later off a corner kick taken by Meyer that Maurer angled in for the score from the front of the net.

The score remained tied through the remainder of the first half but not without opportunities by each team. Four minutes after Defiance tied the game, Jack Stanoikovich had a shot go off the left post that a Concordia defender had to clear out from bouncing back into the vacated net. On the flip side, the Cardinals missed a cross off a corner at the top of the 30th minute and a free kick from 25 yards in front of the net with seven minutes left in the half.

A steady rain started to fall during halftime and for the first 20 minutes of the second half, but both teams were aggressive on the offensive side despite the slick field. Defiance had a trio of early opportunities by Riley Hensley, Quinn Holtzapple, and Jack Stanoikovich all stopped by Concordia's keeper Kyri Wixom.

Breakthrough came for Defiance seven minutes into the second half with three goals over an eight-minute period. The go-ahead score was formulated off a corner kick set up by Meyer from the flag right of the goal. The cross into the box was headed by Stanoikovich, then headed off a Concordia player, batted back out by the keeper Wixom before Noah Svanberg thrust the ball through the back of the net for his first goal of the year. Just five minutes later, the Jackets took a two-goal lead on Maurer's second score of the game which was also off a corner by Meyer from the right flag. After Concordia answered just 30 seconds later during the 58th minute on a Carter Kerbawy score, Svanberg fed Meyer for the game's final goal on a left-to-right cross to cap the 60th minute before the teams rode out the final 30 minutes of play.

The Yellow Jackets have now scored eight goals over the last two games bringing their aggregate goal total to 9-11. Maurer now has a team-high three goals as Meyer's four-point performance gives him a team-best seven points. Svanberg's three-point day delivered his first of the campaign. Killam totaled five saves in net and endured for the win while withstanding 18 Concordia shots. Defiance took six fewer shots than the Cardinals but doubled up their guests in corner kick attempts, 8-4.

Defiance's next contest will take place on the road at Oberlin on Saturday afternoon with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m.

-JACKETS-