Lexington, Ky. – The Transylvania men's soccer team captured an enthralling 3-2 victory over the Defiance College Yellow Jackets at Pat Deacon Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The win improves Transylvania's record to 7-1 on the season and propels the Pioneers into sole possession of second place in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference standings with just one match remaining in the regular season.

The Pioneers opened the game in dramatic fashion as Griffin Lamb, one of six seniors honored on Saturday, headed a deflected ball past the Defiance goalkeeper for his first goal of the season, giving Transylvania a 1-0 lead over the Yellow Jackets.

In the 39^th minute, Mitchell Crispin scored his sixth goal of the season off an assist from Max Nusbacher that put Transylvania ahead 2-0 heading into the halftime break.

Early in the second half, Alec Coomes and another senior in Peyton Netherton connected on the Pioneers' final scoring strike of the day to go on top of Defiance 3-0.

Undeterred by the Transylvania offense, the Yellow Jackets battled back to score two goals over a 10-minute span midway through the half, cutting the Pioneers' lead to just one goal.

With a tenuous lead in hand, the Pioneer defense clamped down to hold the Defiance offense at bay and reignited their command of possession over the final 20 minutes of action to secure the 3-2 victory.

Prior to Saturday's match, seniors Landon Bowman, Garrett Dean, Zach Hill, Luc Powell, along with Lamb and Netherton, were honored for their contributions to the Pioneer men's soccer program over the last four seasons. 

The Pioneers will wrap up the regular season with a matchup against the Franklin College Grizzlies on Wednesday, March 31. First touch between the Pioneers and Grizzlies is set for 7:00 p.m. at Pat Deacon Stadium.

For more on Transylvania men's soccer, follow @TransyMSoccer on Twitter