Box Score DELAWARE, Oh. - Calvin men's soccer advanced to the Round of Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament with a 1-0 win over longtime rival Ohio Wesleyan Saturday evening at the Jay Martin Soccer Complex.
Ohio Wesleyan (15-3-2) and Calvin (17-3-2) met earlier this year back in September where it ended in an overtime draw with a final score of 3-3.
The Battling Bishops started the game with some close chances early and the Knights went right back at them. Senior Sam Twigg (Auckland, NZ / Aukland Grammar School) had the shot on net, but Ohio Wesleyan's keeper made the save. After the shot, the Knights had a couple more corners and shots, but nothing made it to the back of the net.
Junior Ethan Harvey (Naperville, IL / Naperville North) came close to giving the Knights the lead, but another save by the Battling Bishops kept the game scoreless. Both teams were getting great chances, but both defenses and keeper were holding strong.
It became a back-and-forth battle as it was heading into halftime. The Knights had one more chance before halftime with a corner kick and shot by Chris Schau (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) that was blocked. The match headed into halftime tied 0-0. The Knights outshot the Battling Bishops 10-6 and had 3 corners to Ohio Wesleyan's 2 at halftime.
Calvin started the second half on the defensive end after a shot by Ohio Wesleyan, but junior Daniel Wunder (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids) made the stop for Calvin. Just shortly after, the Knights were on the attack and finally broke through the Battling Bishops defense.
Junior Seamus Kilgallon (Plainfield, IL / Wheaton Academy) intercepted a pass in the from the defense and connected on a one-two combination with senior Mason Smith (Flint, MI / Flint Powers Catholic) with Kilgallon punching a shot into the net for a 1-0 Calvin lead in the 52nd minute.
Ohio Wesleyan began to play more aggressively, but Calvin's defense was holding strong against its attacks. Twigg had a great shot on goal, but Ohio Wesleyan's keeper made the save. The Knights began to play defensively for the last ten minutes to make sure nothing got through. Ohio Wesleyan tried to break through Calvin's defense, but the Knights held them off to win 1-0.
COACH COMMENTS: "Such an incredible resolve from our group tonight," said Head Coach Ryan Souders. "That's an incredible team, with maybe the best player in the country, but our guys found a way. I thought we were really dangerous in moments and were able to get on the end of one there in the second half. We had to dig in and hold for a bit longer than we were comfortable with for sure, but our midfielders, were fantastic both ways, our back four never broke and Daniel (Wunder) again came up huge when we needed him. Happy to still be dancing. We'll enjoy the bus ride back and are thankful to prepare for whatever's next."
UP NEXT: The Knights await the winner of the match between Chicago and Otterbein tomorrow afternoon to determine their next opponent.
