October 2, 2007
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's soccer team controlled the pace of play in the opening half, but Defiance College (2-8, 2-1 HCAC) made adjustments at halftime and parlayed their intensity into a pair of second half goals which were the difference as Bluffton (1-8-1, 0-3 HCAC) remains winless in Heartland Conference action following its 2-0 loss to the Yellow Jackets on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2007.
The Beavers came out firing to open the game, taking five shots in the first 27 minutes of play, compared to two paltry attempts by the visitors. DERRICK SCOVANNER (Loveland/Cincinnati Hills) and JUSTIN DERRINGER (Brookville/Brookville) both ripped shots on goal late in the first period before Defiance forced a BRIAN GOOD (Elida/Elida) save in minute 41 as the contest remained scoreless at the intermission.
Defiance looked rejuvenated after the break and the Jackets took advantage of a comebacker off Good's hand and the top post as CHRIS KESSLER rifled his attempt through a cluster in front of the net for a 1-0 Defiance lead at the 58:09 mark.
Struggling to mount a consistent offensive against the Yellow Jackets, Bluffton was again forced to play nearly 20 minutes with 10 players when NOLAN PHELPS (Monroe/Lemon-Monroe) was whistled for his second yellow card. BRAD CANNON ended any thoughts of a comeback by the Beavers when he took a feed from JOSHUA BRUMSFIELD and hit paydirt with 49 seconds to play for the 2-0 victory over Bluffton.
Bluffton took 16 shots, seven on target, compared to 13 for the Yellow Jackets who placed eight shots on goal. Bluffton was whistled for 11 fouls, four less than the visitors from Defiance. Phelps put three shots on goal before his untimely departure. DANIEL TINCH (Middletown/Madison) also fired three shots while LOUIS CANCASCI (Twinsburg/Twinsburg), ANDREW MARTIN(Pittsburgh, Penn./North Allegheny) and Scovanner all chipped in with two shots. Good tallied six saves for the Beavers.
The Bluffton University men's soccer team returns to the pitch on Saturday, Oct. 6, when it travels to Franklin College. The match is slated to start at 5 p.m.
-BEAVERS-