BLUFFTON – The loneliest person in Bluffton’s Steinmetz Field Monday night was Bluffton soccer goal keeper Hannah Yost.
Somewhere between 85 and 90 percent of the game was played in the Delphos Jefferson end of the field and the Pirates rolled to a 6-0 win in Northwest Conference action.
The Pirates would strike early when sophomore Kayla White got the ball just inside the top right of the 18-yard box and drilled home the shot at the 32:47 mark of the first half. She would score her second goal of the match at the 8:44 mark when she drilled home a goal from point blank range to put Bluffton up 2-0 going to the half.
“Kayla sees the field well and is a phenomenal passer,” Bluffton coach Jared Byers said. “She also has a nice shot.”
The Wildcats (3-5, 1-2 NWC) struggled to get any semblance of an attack going and, as a result, ended up without a shot on goal in the game, basically giving Yost the night off.
Bluffton (2-1-2, 2-0 NWC) put the game out of reach when White added her third goal at the 37:00 mark before Sarah Cartwright scored with 33:39 on the clock on a corner kick from Kelli Leugers. Laykin Garmatter scored at the 19:26 mark off an assist from White before Leugers finished the scoring with 13:30 left to play.
“They are a veteran team who we knew would be tough and they controlled the possessions” Delphos coach Josiah Stober said. “We are looking for growth and trying to get better in small spurts; we will try to get there by the end of the season when it counts.”
The Wildcats started four freshmen in the match and only had four players available to substitute.
Bluffton took 19 shots on goal and also had 9 corner kicks in the contest while Jefferson goal keeper Ally Hasting totaled 11 saves on the night.
“We go for ball control and look for opportunities to attack when we get them; we want to attack as much as possible but sometimes have to slow it down.” Byers said. “We played the ball through the mid-field well tonight.”
The big lead allowed Bluffton to get plenty of playing time for their back-ups in the second half, as the Pirates substituted freely as the lead continued to grow.
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