By Colton Steiner
NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Bluffton University men traveled west to Indiana to go head-to-head with the Manchester University Spartans on Wednesday, Oct. 22. It would be a thrilling ending as a goal from Josh Gleek (New Albany/Lincoln) off a corner in the final minute lifted the Beavers to a stunning 1-0 victory. With the win, Bluffton moved to 6-8-1 on the year and 4-3 in conference play, while Manchester dropped to 3-8-4 overall and 2-4-1 in the HCAC.
The first half would be quiet, with each team taking five shots in a scoreless first 45 minutes. Bluffton would be much more active in the second half, taking five more shots than the Spartans. The defense held strong until the final minute when the visitors took advantage of William Clark‘s (Mount Blanchard/Riverdale) corner as Josh Gleek found an opening and snuck his low shot past the Manchester keeper, giving the Beavers a stunning 1-0 victory!
Bluffton finished with a 11-6 advantage in total shots, including a 9-2 edge in shots on frame. Leading the attack for the Beavers was Jaden Ngufor, who went 3-of-4 for shots on target. Roman Whorton (Brookville) added a pair of shots on goal, with Jacob Hoffmann (Toledo/St. Francis DeSales) accounting for two shots in the victory.
Junior Zach Johnson (Middletown) came up with two saves for the squad from Ohio.
The Beavers will be on the road again on Saturday, Oct. 25, when they travel to Rose-Hulman to go up against the Fightin’ Engineers in an afternoon matchup that kicks off at 3:30 p.m.
