HANOVER, Ind. – Hanover College survived an overtime thriller to win the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) 2021 Men’s Soccer Championship on Saturday.  
 
2021 HCAC Men’s Soccer Championship Page
 
Hanover defeated a hot Defiance College, who upset the No. 1 seed Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology to advance to the championship. Following full time and two overtime periods, neither team was able to find the back of the net, forcing a shoot-out to determine the conference champion.
 
In a penalty kick shootout, Hanover survived the Yellow Jackets. After a 4-4 tie in the first round of 10, the sudden death PKs ended in a tally of 5-4, in favor of the Panthers. For his efforts in the post season, Hanover’s Luciano Salemi (Indianapolis, Ind.) was named the 2021 HCAC Men’s Soccer Tournament Most Outstanding Player.
 
Hanover earns the conference’s automatic qualification bid to the 2022 NCAA Division III Men’s Soccer Championship. The field for the championship will be announced Monday, Nov. 8 at 1:30 p.m., with the opening rounds scheduled for Nov. 13-14, 2021 at a location to be announced by the NCAA.

For more information on HCAC men's soccer, visit the websites of any of the participating schools, or go to the HCAC's home on the internet at www.heartlandconf.org. Be sure to stay up to date on all of your Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference news by following @HCACDIII on Twitter and by liking the "HCAC DIII" Facebook page.