Austin Russell

The College of Wooster men's soccer team (0-1-1) dropped a 2-1 contest to host Defiance College (1-1) in the opening men's match of the Purple & Gold Classic on Friday afternoon.

The Fighting Scots started strong, peppering four shots towards the Yellow Jackets' net in the game's opening 10 minutes. However, the hosts would get on the board first when Josiah Nichols fired a shot past Wooster goalkeeper Daniel Quinn in the 12th minute.

Freshman Austin Russell netted the equalizer in the 25th minute. The unassisted goal marked the first of the year for the Scots, as the team previously recorded a scoreless draw against Transylvania University on Tuesday in its season opener.

Defiance's Nick Kleptz buried the go-ahead tally in the 35th minute on a penalty kick.

Wooster applied pressure over the final five minutes of the game, with a header from Matthew Kelly and a shot from Russell being turned away by Defiance goalkeeper Damian Koester. For the game, the Yellow Jackets' netminder recorded six saves.

The Scots had a 15-9 edge in shots and a 9-6 advantage in corner kicks. Four of the corners came in the final 10 minutes of the first half, but the Yellow Jacket defense held strong not allowing a shot attempt.

Wooster returns to action tomorrow with a 4 p.m. match against Saint Vincent College (0-1) in Defiance.