CARMEL, Ind. – The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) men’s soccer teams competed in week eight of the 2022 season.
Around the League:
HCAC Men’s Soccer Schedule
Athletes of the Week:
Offensive Athlete of the Week:
Takezo Kelly (Cincinnati, Ohio) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Forward | Senior – Kelly scored five goals in two matches to lead Rose-Hulman to a perfect 2-0 record last week. Kelly scored a hat trick with three goals in Wednesday’s win over Franklin, then scored the first and second goals as Rose-Hulman rallied from 2-0 down to defeat Transylvania 3-2.
Defensive Athlete of the Week:
Angel Velasco-Urbina (Louisville, Ky.) Bluffton University | Goalkeeper | Sophomore – Velasco-Urbina allowed just one goal in 180 minutes as the Beavers split a pair of 1-0 decisions with Defiance and Hanover. He kept Bluffton in the Saturday match at Hanover with seven saves against the Panthers.
Notable Performances:
- Brendan Hall (West Lafayette, Ind.) Anderson University | Forward | First-Year - Hall found the back of the net twice as Anderson fought to a 3-2 victory against Mount St. Joseph.
- Danny Moro-Medina (Goshen, Ind.) Anderson University | Goalkeeper | Junior - Moro-Medina saved nine of the 12 shots he faced as Anderson went 1-1 on the week. He came up with four saves on five shots against Manchester. Moro-Medina then saved five of the seven shots he faced against Mount St. Joseph.
- Dalton Taynor (Troy, Ohio) Bluffton University | Forward | Senior – Bluffton downed rival Defiance Wednesday afternoon when Taynor delivered the only goal of the match with 4:51 to play. It helped snap an 11-match losing skid at the hands of the Yellow Jackets. It looked like the long-time rivals were headed for a 0-0 tie until the third-leading goal scorer in Bluffton history did what he has done 44 times and that is deposit the ball into the back of the net.
- Chase Stiner (St. Joseph, Ill.) Defiance College | Midfielder | Senior – Stiner led Defiance to a 1-1 week. He recorded two shot attempts in a 1-0 loss to Bluffton. In the 2-1 win over Franklin on Senior Day, the senior scored both second half goals to lead his team to victory. He had four shot attempts in the game, and three on goal. Both goals came off penalty kicks. The first goal was deflected and saved by the Franklin goalie and Stiner was there for the put back. Stiner ripped the second chance high and away from the goalie.
- Joao Domenici (Alphaville, Brazil) Hanover College | Midfielder | Sophomore – Domenici led the Panthers to a 2-0 week as they remain perfect in HCAC play defeating MSJ and Bluffton. In the contest with Bluffton, the sophomore picked up two shots, one of which landed on frame. He also picked up an assist in the team’s win over Mt. St. Joseph.
- Ruben Gonzalez (Sylvania, Ohio) Manchester University | Midfielder | Senior – Gonzalez had one assist and two shots during 90 minutes of play on Wednesday, leading Manchester to a win against Anderson University. During Saturday’s Senior Day and Homecoming festivities, Ruben put up two goals and three shots to lead the Spartans to a 3-1 win against Earlham College.
- Luke Dawdy (Fishers, Ind.) Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology | Defense | Senior – Dawdy led the Rose-Hulman defensive effort in wins of 9-1 over Franklin and 3-2 over Transylvania. The team allowed just 12 total shots over the two matches.
- Jak Birdsong (Liberty Township, Ohio) Transylvania University | Midfielder | Senior - Birdsong had two goals this week on penalty shots making him 2-for-2 on attempts. The first was a game securing goal against Earlham in a 3-1 win. His second goal put Transy up by two at Rose-Hulman, though the final was a 2-3 in favor of Rose-Hulman.
- Trent Fry (Cynthiana, Ky.) Transylvania University | Goalkeeper | Sophomore – In two games, Fry had 10 total saves. He currently has an 80 percent save percentage on the year. He had three saves against Earlham in their 3-1 win. He also recorded seven saves against league-leading Rose-Hulman in their close 2-3 game.
Looking Forward:
HCAC Men’s Soccer Standings