Defiance Falls to Top-Seeded Transy in HCAC Tournament

Defiance at Transylvania Box Score

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Brandon Morgan racked up a season high 15 saves between the posts and Karl Eustache found the back of the net for his sixth goal of the year, but it was not enough to get the Yellow Jackets past Transylvania on Wednesday afternoon. Defiance fell by a 3-1 margin to the top-seeded Pioneers in the first round of the Heartland Conference Tournament, putting an end to its 2006 campaign.

Transylvania’s Matt Karaffa scored on a corner kick at the 28:27 point of the opening half to break open the scoreless tie, and the Pioneers rode the one goal edge into the intermission.

The deficit jumped to 3-0 in the opening minutes of the second half as Ryan Wood scored on a corner kick at the 47:28 mark and Matt Vogel knocked in a penalty kick 33 seconds later.

Defiance held strong from that point on and eventually got to within a pair of goals when Michael Bell assisted Eustache’s strike in the 82nd minute. That was as close as the Jackets would get however as the time ran out on their comeback efforts.

Morgan was outstanding in goal, grabbing 15 saves to keep Defiance within striking distance throughout the match.

The loss puts an end to DC’s late season run which saw the Jackets recover from a 1-8 start by posting a 5-3-1 record over its final eight regular season matches to climb into fourth place in the HCAC standings and clinch a postseason berth.

The game marked the final contests in the fine careers of seniors Jared Gray and Alex Toll. Defiance is set to return its remaining 17 players for the 2007 season, including all but two starters and will bring back its top four scorers from the 2006 campaign.