The nationally-ranked Calvin men's soccer team continued to roll as the Knights picked up a 3-0 victory over Alma Tuesday afternoon at Calvin Field. 

Ranked fourth in the latest Division III Top-25 poll and number-one in the Great Lakes Region, Calvin (9-0-1 overall, 4-0-0 MIAA) stretched its unbeaten streak at home to 15 games while posting its seventh shutout victory of the year including fourth straight in conference play. 

Calvin was forced to withstand a strong first-half charge by the visiting Scots (2-7-0 overall, 2-1-0 MIAA) as Alma played with a strong wind at its back and also came out aggressive. The result was four quick shots by the Scots with Calvin junior goaltender Joe Westra (Grand Rapids Christian HS) up to the task with four quick saves. 

After the opening surge by Alma, Calvin began to match the intensity of its opponent and created a handful of quality scoring opportunities. The Knights then broke through for the first goal of the game 20th minute as sophomore Maurice Wright (Wauwatosa, WI) sent a perfectly placed chip to the right side of the box. The chip was collected on the fly by junior Matt Cosnek (Hopewell, PA) and Cosnek made no mistake as he whipped in a shot for his fifth goal of the year. 

Seven minutes later, Calvin senior Joel Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD) sent a loose ball to the feet of senior Joel VandeKopple (Grand Rapids Christian HS) in close and VandeKopple responded with a blast that deflected off an Alma defender and over the head of goaltender Kyle Lieberman, giving the Knights a 2-0 lead. 

Calvin then picked up an insurance goal three minutes into the second half as Cosnek set up freshman Jared Litty (Hudsonville HS) for a breakaway up the left wing with Litty beating the keeper with a deke and completing the play with a shot into a wide-open net. 

Calvin continued to dominate play over the final 40 minutes of regulation but would not score again. 

Westra and sophomore goaltender Alex Vogelzang (Holland Christian HS) combined on the shutout in goal for the Knights with Westra recording four saves and Vogelzang one. The shutout is the seventh of the year for Westra including the 18th of his collegiate career. 

Calvin finished the match with an 18-9 shots at goal advantage including a 13-3 edge in the second half when the Knights had the wind at their backs. 

The game was a physical one as the two teams combined for 40 fouls with Alma committing 24 and Calvin 16. 

Calvin returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Kalamazoo for a 1:30 p.m. contest at MacKenzie Field.