An early flurry of goals propels Bluffton past Defiance

DEFIANCE, Ohio – In a mid-week rivalry match on the soccer pitch, the Bluffton Beavers scored three times over the first 7:31 and cruised to an 8-0 win over the Defiance Yellow Jackets on Wednesday at Winsper Knobel Field.

The Beavers (3-9-3, 1-4-2) snapped a nine-match winless streak for their first conference win of the year while the Yellow Jackets' skid reached 12 matches in a row without a win. In the all-time series, the Bluffton win gives the Beavers a 17-14-1 edge in the rivalry.

All three of Bluffton's early scores came from junior striker Alyssa Kester. In the third minute, Kester split the Defiance defense and got a clean shot through into back of the net. She found the net again just four minutes later off a rebounded shot sent into the box by Nina McGinn. Kester made it a hat trick in the eighth minute when Brittany Ramirez and Karley Ramirez worked the ball up the field and found Kester in the middle to square up for her third goal. The Beavers tacked on to the lead with scores by Rilynn Kaufman and Clara Matthews to command the contest 5-0 by halftime.

During an even second half, Bluffton broke through with a pair of quick goals in the 78th minute. The first was Kester's fourth goal, which came second after a diving stop by DC keeper Sarah O'Shea off another try by Kester. McGinn then took possession off the kickoff and zipped down the pitch and landed her team-leading sixth goal of the season. McGinn found the net again two minutes later as Bluffton created another frenzy in front of the net off a feed from Mya Vernon.

The shutout was pressured late by Defiance on a solid boot by Hallie Webb that missed just left of the post. That attempt by Webb with just over four minutes left in the game was DC's final of eight total shots.

On the other end, Bluffton took 40 total shots and all seven corner kicks in the contest. Defiance's O'Shea made 14 stops on 22 shots on goal by the Beavers.

The Yellow Jackets play their final home game of the season against Transylvania on Saturday as part of a doubleheader with the men's program. The contest will be played at 1 p.m. at Justin F. Coressel Stadium with Senior Day festivities prior to the match.

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