By: Colton Steiner

BLUFFTON, Ohio - It was a chilly Saturday night as the Bluffton Beavers men's soccer team hosted the Transylvania Pioneers on Alumni Field. Despite a hot start from the Beavers the visitors were able to control the pace of the game and score three consecutive goals as they would hand Bluffton a 3-1 defeat. The loss drops the Beavers to an overall record of 6-6-4 and 3-4-1 in conference play while Transylvania improves to 7-4-4 overall and 4-1-3 in the HCAC.

Bluffton got out of the gate early after Marcelo Ortiz (Leon, Mexico) fed a beautiful lead pass to Brycen Boyle (Middletown), who was able to boot it directly into the goal, giving the Beavers a 1-0 lead 15 minutes in. Despite the quick start, a goal from the Pioneers in the 28th minute evened up the score at 1-1. However, the visitors weren't done yet as they would score six minutes later to take a 2-1 lead on the Beavers heading into halftime.

Transyvlania would come out swinging in the second half as a goal in the 53rd minute from extended their lead to 3-1. Bluffton was unable to get anything going offensively as the fierce defense from the Pioneers would only allow the Beavers to get two shots in the entire second half as they would hand Bluffton a 3-1 loss.

The Beavers struggled to get in a groove on offense despite the quick start, getting outshot 19-6 in total and 9-3 on frame. In goal for Bluffton was Zach Johnson (Middletown) who snagged six saves in the defeat.

There will be no time to dwell on the outcome of this contest as the Beavers will kick right back into action on Tuesday, October 29 at 3:30 p.m., where they will end their regular season with a road contest against Earlham.

-Beavers-