Box Score BLUFFTON, OHIO – A close-knit battle between Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference foes Manchester University and Bluffton University of Ohio needed an extra session to decide the outcome Wednesday, Oct. 15.
A 23-18 overall shots edge and 9-8 lead in shots on goal couldn't quite lead MU (5-8, 1-3 HCAC) to a road victory. The host Beavers broke up a 1-1 deadlock just over eight minutes into overtime for a 2-1 decision.
It appeared early on that neither side would chalk up a mark on the Emory Sears Athletic Complex scoreboard. Spartans' freshman net minder Brady Forman (Hastings, Mich.) and his counterpart Jeff Yoder kept clean sheets well into the second 45 minutes. The hosts wiped away the scoreless draw with a goal in the 74th minute, and senior forward Austin Finley (Kokomo, Ind.) tallied his fifth score of the year less than two minutes from the end to set up overtime.
Junior midfielder/defender Julio Luevano (Aguascalientes, Mexico) and freshman forward Travis Richardson (Elizabethtown, Ind.) each totaled five shot attempts. Forman's 98-plus minutes in goal produced six saves.
MU returns to the pitch at Spartan Field Saturday, Oct. 18. League-leading Rose-Hulman comes to town for a 3 p.m. kickoff.
