Men's soccer finishes season with shootout victory over Mount St. Joseph

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College men's soccer team battled both the rain and the Mount St. Joseph University Lions in the fifth-place match of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship on Thursday afternoon. After 110 minutes of scoreless play, the teams entered a penalty shootout to determine the final HCAC standings.

Defiance keeper Orry Killam turned away the first Lion penalty shot while Chase Stiner beat the MSJ goalie to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 advantage. In the second round, Killam stopped another MSJ shot to keep the lead.

The visiting Lions converted their third attempt to tie the score but Noah Svanberg reclaimed the lead for Defiance with a successful conversion. Killam made another diving stop in the fourth round and Lie'vi Stewart stepped up to the line with a chance to close it out for the Yellow Jackets. The sophomore paced back and delivered a strike just over the diving Lion goalie to secure the shootout victory for the Yellow Jackets!

While the game will go on the books as a tie, the Yellow Jackets claim fifth-place in the final HCAC standings. They finish the season with a record of 4-4-2.

Killam finished the match with six saves after evenly splitting time in goal with Austin Boles. Killam started the game and re-entered for the second overtime period and the shootout while Boles played the second half and first overtime. Boles recorded a save during his 55 minutes in net. He also finishes the season with a total of 235 minutes played and zero goals allowed.

The combined shutout is the sixth of the season for the Yellow Jackets. Defiance also finishes the season only surrendering a single goal in five total home matches.

The Yellow Jackets outshot the lions 21-11 in the match. Stiner led the charge with seven total shots including two on goal. Armando Campos-Ortiz tallied three shots as well.

"Although we didn't come close to having our best performance of the year, winning a PK Shootout is a fun way to end what's been a crazy year and send the seniors off in an exciting way." said Defiance head coach Cory Bucur. "These guys have set such a high standard with the work they have put forth on and off the field so to walk off the field for the last time with a smile on their faces is all I could ask for. It's been an honor coaching these seniors and the whole group overall and I look forward to doing it all over again come August!"