BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton University men's soccer team scored two goals just over four minutes apart in a 2-1 victory over visiting Manchester University on a beautiful Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. Bluffton improved to 4-4-3 overall and 1-2 in the Heartland Conference, while the Spartans fell to 4-4-2 and 1-1-1 in the HCAC.

Bluffton forged a 7-3 advantage in shots during the first 45 but the home team was unable to parlay that into any goals as the score remained deadlocked at 0-0 heading into the second period.

It took just over 10 minutes for junior Leonardo Campos (Santiago, Chile/Campbellsville University) to break the tie following the intermission. He was on the receiving end of a slick feed from senior Jackson Clark (Mount Blanchard/Riverdale). Four minutes later, Devin Homan (Dayton/Stebbins) connected with Campos for his second goal of the match and third of the season as Bluffton led 2-0 with 30 minutes to play.

Andy Ignatovich cut Manchester's deficit in half at the 64:22 mark, but Bluffton put the clamps on and did what it needed to do to earn the three points with its first HCAC victory of the season!

The home team finished with a 12-8 edge in total shots. Manchester forced two of the three corner kicks, while the Beavers were whistled for two more fouls (10-8). The Spartans drew both yellow cards on Wednesday afternoon.

Mathias Garcia (Fort Wayne, Ind./New Haven) fired four shots at the Spartans, while Marcelo Ortiz (Leon, Mexico) chipped in with three attempts.

Zach Johnson (Middletown) improved to 3-2-2 thanks to three saves in the Bluffton victory.

The Bluffton men will be back on the pitch when they travel to Franklin College for a 3:30 p.m. matchup with the Grizzlies on Saturday, Oct. 12.

-BEAVERS-