KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Calvin Men's Lacrosse team defeated Kalamazoo College 12-9 on Wednesday night. 

The Knights came out strong in the first quarter scoring three goals; two of which were scored by sophomore Jacob Gandara (Santa Clarita, Calif. / West Ranch). 

Just as the quarter was about to close, the Hornets got on the board to make it a 3-1 game. 

With the second quarter underway, Kalamazoo up one man recorded another goal to tighten Calvin's lead to within one. 

It was the Knights who got on the board next as sophomore Nathan Jindra (South Bend, Ind. / John Adams) found the back of the cage to put Calvin up 4-2. 

The Hornets continued to battle as they connected on another goal. However, Calvin answered as senior Austin Bontreger (Fishers, Ind. / Heritage Christian) connected with junior Griffin Sparling (Novi, Mich. / Novi) and as the half concluded, the Knights led 5-3. 

Moving on to the second half, the two teams exchanged goals keeping it a close contest. Calvin up 6-5, went on a run of three goals and as the third quarter closed out, the Knights held their lead. 

Calvin started out the fourth quarter with a goal as senior Max Foster (Bloomfield Hills, Mich. / Brother Rice) found Bontreger and the Knight took the 10-5 lead. 

Kalamazoo then went on a hot streak as they recorded three straight goals to trail by two. 

With under five minutes of play, Calvin blasted two goals within a minute of each other to stretch its lead to four. 

The Hornets found one more opportunity to score, but it was the Knights who walked away with the 12-9 victory. 

Leading the Knights in scoring was Gandara with four goals. Bontreger recorde a hat trick and one assist. Griffin Sparling also had hat trick and recorded two assists. Jindra connected on two goals. Freshman Chase Sparling (Novi, Mich. / Novi High School) led in assists with three and Foster had two. 

Sophomore Goalie Gerrit Kurtycz (Hudsonville, Mich. / Hudsonville) picked up his sixth win of the season with 12 saves on goal.

It was a well fought game as Calvin outshot Kalamazoo by only two (45 to 43).

Head Coach Dave Hoger stated, "Tonight was a great team win. We had some injuries coming into the game and some guys really stepped up big for us. We're excited and hope to use the momentum as we head into conference play."

The Knights return to action on Saturday as they host Albion at 1 p.m.