The Bluffton University football team opened up the 2018 season at home against the College of Wooster under new Head Coach Aaron Krepps. It was the third meeting all-time between the schools with Wooster now a perfect 3-0. The Beavers rallied from 30 points down but fell just short in a 44-34 setback to the Fighting Scots.

Wooster jumped on the scoreboard first as Nick Strausbaug caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Caden Croft to put the Fighting Scots up 7-0 midway through the first quarter. The visitors then recovered a fumble and took it 15 yards for a touchdown thanks to Robert Alvarez, making it 14-0 late in the first. Bluffton responded with a 69-yard touchdown pass from Plummie Gardner (Lima/Perry) to Adam Duncan (Northwood/Lake) that made the score 14-7 after one quarter.

The Fighting Scots pushed their lead 21-7 at the 10:49 mark in the second quarter as Jacob Lewis reeled in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Croft that forced the Beavers into an early double-digit deficit. With 5:07 left in the second, Lucas Espitia (Lincoln Park, MI/Lincoln Park) caught a 27-yard touchdown strike from Gardner that would make the score 21-14.

The Beavers trailed 44-14 heading to the final stanza following 16 unanswered points by the visitors in the third stanza. A pair of Gardner to Espitia touchdowns separated by just nine seconds, thanks to a Wooster muffed kickoff, gave the home team life again as the Beavers trimmed the deficit to 16 points with 12:43 to play. DeAngelo Woods (Elida) pulled Bluffton within 10 with his 13-yard scoring reception at the 2:46 mark, but the 2-point attempt was picked off, effectively sealing the Wooster victory.

Gardner lit up the stat sheet, throwing for 298 yards and a school-record tying five touchdown passes! Espitia was his leading target, hauling in three touchdowns for 136 yards to begin his senior campaign.

Senior Tyler Showalter (Haviland/Wayne Trace) led the Beavers with 12 tackles. Isaac Zickafoose (Middlebury, IN/Northridge) also had a major impact for the defense, tallying six stops with two sacks. Doniven Clark (Toledo/Bowsher) added four tackles and a huge interception.

The Beavers will quickly put this game in the past as they prepare to take on Trine University in their first road game of the season. Bluffton dropped a 55-14 decision to the Thunder last year and the Beavers will be looking to avenge that loss. The game will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, in Angola, Ind.

Men's soccer
he Bluffton University men's soccer team went toe-to-toe with Pitt-Greensburg for over 85 minutes before an Orazio Barbarino net finder with 4:27 to play handed the Bobcats a 1-0 victory at Muskingum on Saturday, Sept. 1. Bluffton wraps up its first weekend under Head Coach Sean Elvert with a 1-1 mark, allowing just one tally.

Greensburg finished with a 17-12 edge in shots, including 7-4 on target. The Beavers forced three more corner kicks, while the Bobcats were whistled for three more fouls, 13-10.

Sophomore Connor Kaminicki (Northfield, Ohio/Nordonia) came up with six saves, while Christian Zapata (Livonia, MI/Adlai E. Stevenson) pressured the Greensburg back line with seven shots.

Bluffton will be back on the practice field until the Beavers head to Wittenberg University on Friday, Sept. 7 for a matchup with the Tigers.

Volleyball
Bluffton fell to regional powers Thomas More and Case Western Reserve on day two of the Ohio Northern Invitational. The Beavers struggled against Thomas More, falling 25-17, 25-13 and 25-19, before dropping their second match of the day in three sets (25-23, 25-17, 25-20).

Sophomore Remi Bower (Hamler/Patrick Henry) led the offense with seven kills against the Saints. Senior Erin Weisgarber (Bolivar/Tuscarawas Valley), who was named to the ONU Invitational All-Tournament Team, handed out 15 assists and she was just a dig away from a double-double. FreshmanBrooke Kleman (Ottawa/Ottawa-Glandorf) also just missed double figures with eight pickups.

Leading the way against Case Western Reserve was freshman Maddie White (Ashland) who finished with 11 putaways and a .292 hitting percentage!Bethany Martini (Pickerington/North) added 10 digs, while Weisgarber doled out 21 helpers. Kleman and Abby Rohrbach (New Knoxville) picked up 15 and 11 digs, respectively.

Bluffton makes its home debut against IU-East on Tuesday, Sept. 4 at 7 p.m.

Men's golf
Day two of the ONU Fall Classic saw the Beavers post a 370 for a fourth place finish on Sunday, Sept. 2. Bluffton wrapped up its opening weekend with a total tally of 728.

Sophomore Michael Fimiani (Willoughby) topped Bluffton with a 174, firing identical rounds of 87 on Saturday and Sunday. Freshman Carter Mumbower (Newport, MI/Airport) was just two strokes back with sophomore Takoda Pratt (Shelby) chipping in a 180. Nick Offenburger (Lexington) and Anthony Mungia (North Baltimore) rounded out the scorers for Bluffton at 184 and 192, respectively.

The men return to action on Saturday, Sept. 8, with a short trip to Findlay for the The Ohio Cup at Red Hawk Run Golf Club.

Women's golf
It took an extra day to get there, but the Bluffton University Women's Golf Team kicked off the 2018-19 season with a victory over Anderson University at the MSJ Stateline Shootout on Sunday, Sept. 2. Inclement weather turned Saturday into a practice round for those who were able to get on the Miami Whitewater Forest course.

Abby Bullion (Bellevue) and Brylee Oberdorf (Green Springs/Clyde) led the way for Bluffton with identical rounds of 104. Kourtney Kretschmar(Greenville) was three stokes back, while Keely Briggs (Franklin) rounded out the scoring with a 116.

The Beavers combined for a 441 on a hot and humid Sunday in southern Ohio, besting HCAC-rival Anderson by one stroke.

Bluffton jumps right back into action with a trip to Eagle Rock Golf Club in Defiance on Tuesday, Sept. 4, for the Jon P. Spiess Memorial tournament.

Women's soccer
The Bluffton University women's soccer team kicked off its 2018 home slate against Mennonite rival Goshen College on a blistering hot Sunday, Sept. 2. Goshen scored three late goals to secure a 5-0 shutout at the Sears Complex, improving to 3-1 on the season. The Beavers slipped to 0-2 following the opening weekend of action.

Allison Ebersole netted a pair of tallies for the Maple Leafs who outshot the home team by a 30-10 margin, including 17-5 on frame. Goshen forced four more corner kicks (9-5), but the visitors were also whistled for two more fouls (6-4).

Senior Skylar Liming (St. Marys/Memorial) fied six shots while sophomore keeper Sienna Sullivan (Columbus/Hilliard Davidson) racked up 12 saves in the loss.

Bluffton is back at the Sears Complex on Thursday, Sept. 6, when the Beavers welcome Oberlin College for a 5 p.m. start.

Cross country
The Bluffton University cross country team opened the 2018 campaign with their annual Back to the Nature Preserve Invitational on Friday evening.

The women's team came home with a solid third-place finish, trailing nationally-ranked Ohio Northern and only 13 points behind Division II foe The University of Findlay.

The Beavers had three women place inside the top 20, led by senior Jennie Matteson (Guysville/Alexander) with a 10th place finish and a time of 20:33.37. She was followed closely by junior Alexis Cash (Gaines, Mich./Lake Fenton) and sophomore Kimberly Hetrick (Fremont/Ross) as they finished in the 18th and 20th positions, respectively. Senior Tami Groff (Versailles) and sophomore Bailie Barrington (Waynesfield/Waynesfield-Goshen) rounded out the scoring five for the Beavers with finishes of 24th and 27th.

The Bluffton men were led by senior Jonah Eckert (Terre Haute, Ind./West Vigo) with a great first-meet showing, finishing 16th overall in the race and 10th out of collegiate runners with a six-kilometer time of 20:07.94. Juniors Dakota Frost (Hicksville) and Connor Gulick (St. Louisville/Utica) finished within 10 seconds of each other as the second and third placers for the Beavers.

The University of Findlay men came home victorious, followed by Ohio Northern and Ohio Christian which rounded out the top three in the men's race.

The Beavers will kick into their full distances on Saturday, Sept. 15, when they travel to the pre-conference meet in Shelbyville, Ind., their first of three trips to Blue River Park.

Women's soccer
The Bluffton University women's soccer team trailed just 2-1 at the break before Ohio Christian exploded for six scores in the second stanza. The Trailblazers improved to 2-1, while the Beavers start the season with a 0-1 mark.

Senior Skylar Liming (St. Marys/Memorial) netted a tally in each half. An assist from freshman Julia Gibson (New Carlisle, Ohio / Tecumseh ) set up her second goal of the match just over six minutes into period two.

Ohio Christian forged a 40-9 edge in shots, including 25-8 on frame. Liming fired all nine shots for the visitors, while sophomore keeper Sienna Sullivan (Columbus, Ohio/Hilliard Davidson ) nothched 17 saves for the Beavers.