From Case Western Reserve University Athletics
The Case Western Reserve University men's soccer team shut out Defiance College in a non-conference match, defeating the Yellow Jackets 3-0 on Wednesday night at DiSanto Field in Cleveland.
The Spartans improved to 3-0-0 on the season, while Defiance fell to 0-3-0. CWRU has not lost a home match since October 31, 2021, either tying or winning its last 10 games at DiSanto Field.
Sophomore midfielder Camden Larson opened the scoring in the 18th minute with his first goal of the season. Larson played a give-and-go with senior midfielder Matt Vatne, receiving the ball unmarked in the center of the box. He dribbled a bit outside and fired a shot into the lower left corner to put the Spartans on the board. Vatne earned his second assist of the season and first of the match on the play.
Despite controlling possession for much of the first half and outshooting Defiance 19-1 in the first 45 minutes, Case Western Reserve was unable to double its lead. Orry Killam, the Yellow Jacket goalkeeper, made six saves in the period, with two additional Spartan shots hitting the woodwork.
In the 72nd minute, CWRU finally found its second goal, and the third goal came just two minutes later.
To start the play that led to the team's 2-0 lead, first-year midfielder Sean Wilson flicked a no-look pass to Vatne in the middle of the attacking zone. Vatne found junior midfielder Lukas Dalakis on a run toward the six-yard box, and he shot the ball hard into the bottom left corner and the back of the net. It was the first goal of the season for Dalakis and the fifth of his career.
Just two minutes and 22 seconds later, junior forward Kysen Kroeger scored his second goal of the season to put the match away. Sophomore midfielder Ben Collier easily stole the ball from a Yellow Jacket defender just outside the box. He crossed the ball on the ground toward the middle of the field, and Kroeger arrived at ball just as it reached the near post. He tapped it past the goalkeeper to make the score 3-0. Collier earned his first career assist on the play.
Case Western Reserve held possession for most of the match, controlling the ball nearly three times as long as Defiance. The Spartans outshot the Yellow Jackets 37-2 with a 12-1 advantage in shots on goal and 16-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Sophomore goalkeeper Bradley Winter started the match and improved to 3-0-0 on the season. Sophomore goalkeeper Stephen Vilardo played the final 14 minutes in front of the net, collecting his first career save and completing the shutout.