A hard-fought effort came up just short on Friday night as Calvin suffered a 1-0 defeat at non-conference rival Wheaton College (IL). The only goal of the game came off the foot of Wheaton's Ben Theimer in the 13th minute of the first half on a direct free kick. 

Wheaton (3-1-0) continued to threaten, hitting the crossbar late in the first half on a direct kick just outside the Calvin box and then hitting the crossbar again early in the second half with Calvin junior goalkeeper Matt Gardner (Worthington, OH) making a leaping deflection on the play. 

Calvin was able to mount significant pressure on the Wheaton goal in the final 10 minutes of play but Wheaton goalkeeper Ryan Souders along with his backline were able to come up with four saves including three in the final 10 minutes. 

Wheaton held a 13-8 shots at goal advantage but outshot Calvin just 6-5 in the second half. Gardner was solid in defeat for the Knights in nets, collecting five saves. 

Calvin will look to regroup tomorrow night when it journeys to North Park College (IL) for a game scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. (EST).