By: Ryan Schadewald, sports information assistant

Stats

RICHMOND, Ind. - The Bluffton women’s soccer team earned their first HCAC victory of the season on Saturday, Oct. 10, as they knocked off Earlham, 4-2. The Beavers were led by a hat trick from freshman Ashley Keller (Piqua/Lehman Catholic) in the win!  Bluffton improved to 5-7 and 1-2 in the HCAC while Earlham is now 1-7-1 and 0-3 in the conference. It was the first hat trick for a Beaver since Terrill Webb scored three times in Bluffton's 4-2 win at Defiance in 2014.

The scoring came early as Earlham tallied a goal on a penalty kick in the fourth minute for a 1-0 lead. Keller would knot the contest in the 10th minute, tying the match at 1-1. In the 29th minute, the Beavers took the lead on Keller’s second of the day when Katelyn Gardella's (Troy/Miami East) assist gave Bluffton a 2-1 lead. Then in the 39th minute, Beth Snyder (Akron, NY/Akron Central) knocked in her third goal of the season on an assist from Keller and Bluffton led 3-1 at the break.

Most of the second stanza went by without a whimper, but in the 87th minute both teams exchanged goals in a 16-second timeframe. The Beavers struck first with Keller’s third goal of the game thanks to Gardella's second assist of the day. Kelly Mayhew would find the back of the net just 16 ticks removed from Bluffton's tally,  but it was too little, too late as Bluffton took home a 4-2 win.

Keller’s three goals gets her to nine on the campaign, tying her at 8th for goals in a season with six matches still to play, while her 20 points on the season puts her 8th on that list as well.

The Beavers were outshot in the contest by a slim 16-15 margin, however, the visitors put two more on frame (10-8). Keller and Snyder both paced the Beavers with four shots apiece. Senior keeper Ashley Knippen (Wapakoneta) returned after her two-game hiatus , posting six saves and improving her record to 5-4 on the year.

The Beavers return to action on Tuesday, Oct. 13, as they head to North Manchester, Ind. to take on the Manchester University Spartans at 4 p.m. The Beavers hit the road again next weekend before finally returning home for the arch-rival Defiance College Yellow Jackets on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 3:30 p.m. Come support your Beavers!

-BEAVERS-