Men’s soccer to kick off 2021 fall season on Sept. 1, with three straight home matches

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Defiance College men's soccer team's schedule is set as the Yellow Jackets move into their traditional fall season of 2021. The slate consists of 20 regular-season matches, including the first three at home.

"As soon as we completed our spring season, our focus shifted to finishing higher in the standings come this fall," DC head coach Cory Bucur said. "We have set the goal of finishing top four in the conference and we are going to give our best effort to achieve that."

This past spring, Defiance played just 10 contests, all within the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference. This fall, the Yellow Jackets have 11 non-conference matchups before beginning HCAC play.

DC begins the season on Sept. 1 with a home game against Heidelberg University before hosting Capital University and the College of Wooster on Sept. 3 and Sept. 5, respectively, in its Purple and Gold Classic.

"I believe it is very beneficial to start off at home to get the whole school and campus community invested in what we are trying to accomplish," Bucur said. "We are appreciative of the fact we got to play some games in the spring, but we are really looking forward to having a full schedule of games and getting even more fan support in the fall!"

Following the three-match homestand to start the campaign, Defiance plays eight of its next nine games on the road. After competing at Adrian College, at Hiram College, versus Thiel College and hosting Baldwin Wallace University, the Yellow Jackets are away from home to take on Geneva College, the University of Saint Francis (Indiana), Albion College, Olivet College and conference foe Bluffton University.

"Our non-conference schedule is quite challenging but we still will feel good about our chances in each game if we prepare appropriately and play to our potential each game," Bucur said. "Heidelberg at home to start the season will be an exciting one so we look forward to having our families, friends and DC students out to Winsper-Knoble Field to create a fun environment for our guys. We play six games in the first 12 days of September so it will test our fitness, mentality and squad depth, but I believe we will be up for the challenge and compete well with each team we will match up with.

"Going to HCAC rival Bluffton to start conference play won't be an easy one, but having a good performance there could create a lot of positive momentum for the rest of our conference season."

After Bluffton, Defiance has eight HCAC competitions in October, starting with home matches against Transylvania University and Manchester University. The Yellow Jackets then travel to defending conference champion Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology before home games with Anderson University and Hanover College. Regular-season action concludes with contests at Mount St. Joseph University and at Franklin College before DC returns to Defiance to face Earlham College.

"In recent history, Rose-Hulman, Hanover and Transylvania have made up the top three, but we know this is a tough soccer conference where if you don't show up to play, you will be going home with a bad result," Bucur said. "When you only play each team once per year, each matchup means so much. We have enough returners coming back who have experienced intense conference environments and we believe that will help get the incoming guys up to speed and ready to contribute when called upon."

The Jackets finished the shortened spring season at 4-4-2 overall, including 4-4-1 in regular-season HCAC play for fifth place. DC then claimed the fifth spot with a win in the one-game conference postseason.