November 10, 2015

All-HCAC release

BLUFFTON, Ohio - BLUFFTON, Ohio - A pair of Bluffton University women  have been named All-Heartland Conference for their outstanding play in 2015. Freshman Ashley Keller (Piqua/Lehman Catholic) and sophomore Brittany Huff (Union/Northmont) were both recognized when the HCAC announced its top players this season as voted on by the head coaches.

Ashley Keller wasted little time asserting herself as Bluffton's top scoring threat as she scored three goals in her first five collegiate contests. The talented forward led the Beavers with 12 tallies, the fourth-highest total in school history and the most since Tara Young set the single-season record with 16 goals in 1998. She also tied for fourth on the all-time list with 26 points in 2015. Keller's 12 scores left her tied for third in the Heartland Conference despite being just a freshman. The Second Team All-HCAC honoree is already 14th on the career list with her 12 goals and 26 total points. Keller had a career day at Earlham when her hat trick and assist accounted for all of the Beaver goals in Bluffton's first HCAC win of the season, a 4-2 victory over the Quakers.

Sophomore Brittany Huff did a little bit of everything for Bluffton in Head Coach Rhonda Gottschalk's first season at the helm. A lockdown defender with the strength to control the game as a back, Huff finished tied for second with five goals. She also saw time as keeper in two contests when fellow two-sport athlete Ashley Knippen (Wapakoneta) was sidelined with an injury. A two-time Honorable Mention All-HCAC selection in soccer and the starting shortstop for softball, Huff had a penchant for planting deep free kicks in the back of the net. Her biggest boot came with the clock winding down in Bluffton's home match with Mount Union. Following a conference between the officials after the horn sounded, the Beavers celebrated Huff's game winner which came in the final second of play.       

In conjunction with the All-HCAC selections, the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference also announced the All-HCAC Sportsmanship Team for the fall of 2015. Brittany Huff was selected to the All-Sportsmanship Team from Bluffton. This award has been developed as part of a conference-wide sportsmanship initiative. Members of the All-HCAC Sportsmanship team are selected by the coaches and their teammates as individuals who demonstrate the ideals of positive sportsmanship both on and off the field/court of competition.

Bluffton wrapped up its season with a 7-11 record, including a 3-6 mark in the conference. Full statistics and information on the Bluffton women's soccer program are available online at www.blufftonbeavers.com/womenssoccer.

-BEAVERS-