BLUFFTON, Oh. --- Asbury women's soccer (0-2-1) hit the road on Wednesday to face Bluffton University (2-2-1), in the first ever matchup between the two schools. Bluffton scored twice in the second half to hold off the Eagles late push, taking a 2-1 win over AU. 

Junior Deidra Long scored the lone goal for the Eagles on the night, coming off a nice assist from teammate, Caroline Absher. Absher had herself a solid night recording eight shots and five shots on goal (SOG) in 88 minutes played.

Sophomore, Hannah Muncie had another strong showing with eight shots and six SOG. Maggie Higdon, Payton Ardery, and Madie Boehnlein added two shots of their own, each collecting one SOG.

The Asbury offense started attacking early in the contest. Hannah Muncie, Maggie Higdon, and Caroline Absher all recorded a SOG within the first 18 minutes of action, none would hit back net and the match stayed 0-0.

Caroline Absher put together a good attack in the 21st minute and put in a good effort that was saved by the Bluffton keeper. 

Asbury continued to put pressure on the Bluffton defense recording six shots before the end of the half, three of them being on target but secured by the Bluffton goalie. The match entered the half netted up at zero.
 
AU came out ready in the second half, scoring in the 49th minute off the foot of Deidra Long to take the score to 1-0. Caroline Absher collected the assist and set Long up well for her first goal of the 2023 season. Asbury held the lead for seven minutes until Bluffton responded in the 56th minute with their own goal to net things up at 1-1. 

Hannah Muncie collected another SOG in the 62nd minute that was saved. Muncie put pressure on the Bluffton defense all night and set the tone offensively for the Eagles.

In the 63rd minute it was Bluffton scoring the final goal of the match, taking a 2-1 lead they didn't let up. Payton Ardery, Hannah Muncie (2), and Caroline Absher struck SOG's in the last 30 minutes but none would prove to tie the game, ending with AU behind 1-2.

The Eagles fought hard and put a great offensive force together with 15 SOG and 25 SH total in the game. 

Asbury moves to 0-2-1 on the season, with many more opportunities to find their rhythm and collect wins.


* Deidra Long | 1 G, 1 SH, 1 SOG
* Hannah Muncie | 8 SH, 6 SOG
* Maggie Higdon | 2 SH, 1 SOG
* Caroline Absher | 8 SH, 5 SOG


* Asbury recorded 25 shots with 15 on goal, giving themselves a SOG percentage of 60%.
* Maliya Crump, Maggie Perry, Audrey Van Lieu, and Maggie Higdon played all 90 minutes.


Asbury's next match will be Saturday as they host Anderson in Wilmore, Ky., at 3 PM.

---

* For the latest information on Asbury Athletics follow us @asburyeagles on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook
* Watch our all #TeamAU home games live at Asbury Sports Digital Network
* Use the links attached to the team schedules to watch live or follow live stats