The Bluffton University men's soccer program is looking forward to building on a 2019 season that saw the Beavers win six games for the first time since 2014. Head Coach Robert Richardson takes over for Sean Elvert who directed a Bluffton team that tied the school record with 44 goals in a season and finished in the top 50 nationally for points.
The Bluffton senior class includes Sergio Alvarez (Acworth, GA), Trent Mast (Southington/Cardinal), Jared Nicol (East Liberty/Benjamin Logan), Joseph Eisele (Lima/Central Catholic) and Brenden Nicholl (Manitou Beach, MI/Addison). Patrick Spillman (Anderson, IN/Frankton) will be looking to build on his breakout junior season, having scored five times and adding one assist. Jackson Heffernan (Mount Vernon/Mount Vernon) has 49 career appearances and will be looking to cross the half century mark.
Dalton Taynor (Troy/Miami East) already sits in the top ten of multiple program categories heading into his junior year. Taynor has posted 43 points through two seasons with the program and was the first player in five years to receive All-Ohio honors along with being named second team all-conference for his performances during the 2019 season. The Second Team All-HCAC honoree led the conference with 12 goals and 29 points as a sophomore.
Fellow junior midfielder Jacob Kiger (Groveport/St. Charles Prep) netted five goals, including two penalty kicks and had five assists last season. Christian Parker (Urbana/West Liberty) tallied two goals on just seven shots as a junior.
Tanner Newport (Hamilton, VA/Loudoun Valley) anchored Bluffton's defense from day one as a freshman. The honorable mention All-HCAC honoree started all 19 matches, posting a .723 save percentage while allowing just 2.63 GPG with a conference-best 125 saves. Fellow sophomores Hunter Coffey (Wapakoneta/Wapakoneta) and Brandon DeCoursey (Bruceville, IN/North Knox) both netted four tallies as freshmen, while Elijah Grieser (Wauseon/Pettisville) chipped in with five assists and two goals. Grant Ingham (Lebanon/Lebanon) started in 18 of his 19 appearances for the Beavers. This group along with fellow returning sophomores Maxwell Kennedy (Strongsville/ Strongsville), Evan Hill (Hilliard/Hilliard Davidson), Maximilian Pierce (Middletown/Lebanon), Dru Arrasmith (Xenia/Greenview), Steven Liptak (Uniontown/Hoover), Andrew Bowers (Perrysburg/Perrysburg) and Justin Combs (Union/Northmont) will be looking to build on their impressive freshmen season and continue to move the program forward.
Bluffton University is excited to announce its Heartland Conference men's soccer schedule for the 2020-21 school year! The nine-game slate kicks off with a trip to rival Defiance on Wednesday, March 3. Although the conference portion of the schedule has been moved to the spring due to COVID-19, the Beavers will play at Adrian on Sunday, Oct. 11, before hosting Adrian College on Saturday, Oct. 17.
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