By: Colton Steiner
BLUFFTON, Ohio - The Bluffton Beavers men's soccer squad welcomed the Mount St. Joseph Lions to the Sears Complex as they celebrated the collegiate careers of 11 senior Beavers. Before the contest and during halftime, Angel Velasco-Urbina (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay), Andrew Ireland (Coshocton/River View), JJ Meyer (Cincinnati/Oak Hills), Benjamin Davidson (Greenville), Joshua Webster (Sidney), Aidan Smith (Springfield/Kenton Ridge), Leonardo Campos (Santiago, Chile/Campbellsville), Brycen Boyle (Middletown), Gabriel Rivera (Fort Wayne, IN/Bishop Luers), Matt Dennis (Suffolk, VA/Nansemond-Suffolk Academy) and Jackson Clark (Mount Blanchard/Riverdale) were recognized for their achievements on and off the field during their time at Bluffton. As the contest started, the celebration continued as the Beaver offense was on fire in the second half, as they cruised to a dominant 5-1 victory over the Lions, improving to 6-5-4 overall and 3-3-1 in conference play.
The visitors would get off to a quick start, scoring a goal inside the box to jump to a 1-0 advantage only 10 minutes into the contest. Despite solid defense from the Lions, Bluffton was able to even up the score 1-1 in the 37th minute after Marcelo Ortiz (Leon, Mexico) followed up a shot from Davidson that ricocheted off the top post with shot back into the net for his first goal of the season. After a Lion foul inside the box, Alex Brown lined up for a penalty kick and fired it past the Mount St. Joseph keeper in the lower left corner to give the Beavers a 2-1 lead going into the break.
Bluffton wouldn't slow down and came out with vengence in the second half as Collin Scheid (Lima/Shawnee) collected his first goal of the season in the 49th minute after a free kick hit off the post and he was able to hit it straight into the netting as Bluffton extended its lead to 3-1. In the 80th minute, Leonardo Campos wanted to join the party as he took a beautiful pass from Jackson Clark and snuck it past the MSJ goalie. Six minutes later, Campos would score his second goal of the game with a shot that that rolled right by the extended arm of the keeper into the corner of the goal. In the 90th minute, the whistle would sound, sealing the 5-1 victory for the Beavers on Senior Day!
Leading the way for Bluffton was senior Leonardo Campos who netted two goals in the contest with five attempts and three shots on goal. Jackson Clark was dishing out the assists and he collected two in the outing while also adding two shots on goal. Alex Brown added three shots on goal with Marcello adding two. For the game, the Beavers outshot the Lions 19-8 with an 11-3 advantage on frame. Sophomore Zach Johnson (Middletown) did the job with three saves on Wednesday afternoon.
Bluffton will kick right back into action on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. when they will face off against Transylvania on Alumni Field. Come out and support your Beavers!
-Beavers-
