DC Tabbed to Finish 8th By the Coaches In Preseason Poll
GREENWOOD, Ind. - The Defiance College Yellow Jackets men's soccer program was picked to finish eighth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference by the coaches in the preseason poll.
GREENWOOD, Ind. - The Defiance College Yellow Jackets men's soccer program was picked to finish eighth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference by the coaches in the preseason poll. Three Defiance College players were also named to the preseason players to watch list.
| # | Teams | Points |
| 1. | Transylvania | 95 (7) |
| 2. | Rose-Hulman | 91 (2) |
| 3. | Anderson | 73 |
| 4. | Hanover | 68 (1) |
| 5. | Franklin | 67 |
| 6. | Earlham | 47 |
| 7. | Manchester | 39 |
| 8. | Defiance | 33 |
| 9. | Mount St. Joseph | 24 |
| 10. | Bluffton | 13 |
The Yellow Jackets, who come off of a sixth place tie (3-5-1) finish with Manchester in 2012 in the HCAC standings, dropped to eighth in this season's preseason poll with 33 points from the coaches' vote.
At the top of the poll, Transylvania recieved the most points (95) with seven first place votes, edging out Rose-Hulman who had 91 points.
Three Defiance returners were named to the preseason watch list, including returning senior goalkeeper Sean Roberts. The Canal Winchester, Ohio native has logged major playing time during his career at Defiance, playing in 50 games and over 4200 minutes. For his career, Roberts has 279 saves and a .771 save percentage to go along with a 1.74 goals against average. The senior enters the season with nine career wins and six shutouts.
Also on the preseason watchlist is forward Kevin Arriola. The junior has played in 31 career games for the Yellow Jackets in his first two years at Defiance. The New Lebanon, Ohio native scored five goals for the Purple and Gold in 2012, including the game winners at Manchester and at Mount St. Joseph. Arriola led the Yellow Jackets in shots last year with 49. For his career, Arriola, has eight goals, three that were game winners, on 71 shots.
The final preseason watchlist player for the Yellow Jackets is Blayne Robbins. The sophomore defender played in all 19 games last season as a freshman with 18 starts for the Purlple and Gold. The Galva, Ill. native was a key part of one of the better defensive years for the Yellow Jackets in recent history.
The Yellow Jackets will start off the 2013 season on August 30 with the opening day of the Defiance Classic vs Rockford. The conference slate will begin Oct. 5 when Mount St. Joseph visits Defiance.