BLUFFTON, Ohio – The Earlham College women's soccer team opened Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) play with a 3-0 shutout win over Bluffton University on Saturday afternoon.

The Quakers, who did not win a game in non-conference play, were not to be denied as seniors Kelly Mayhew and Cherrah Barclay scored first-half goals to put Earlham up 2-0.

Bluffton, who also did not win in non-conference competition, was held to only three shots in the first half.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, junior Abby McCullough took a pass from Barclay and put the Quakers up 3-0 on her first goal of the season. The assist was Barclay's second of the game having assisted on Mayhew's opening goal in the 20th minute.

Both teams took 16 shots in the game with the Beavers taking 13 shots in the final 45 minutes. Freshman goalkeeper Sari Stissi earned her first collegiate victory preserving the shutout with seven second-half saves. The Quakers earned seven corner kicks compared to three for the Beavers.

"We had an excellent week of practice leading up to this game and we carried that into the win today," first-year head coach Chad Hardin said. "It feels great to begin conference play with a win, but we have to begin preparing for a well-coached Rose-Hulman team tomorrow."

Earlham will travel to Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology for a 7 p.m. game on Wednesday, Oct. 5.