Box Score Calvin men's soccer opened its home and conference slate with a 3-0 win against Trine Thursday evening. This was Calvin's first home game since the NCAA Tournament in 2019.
In the start of the match, the Knights had two close opportunities in the first five minutes of the game. Mason Smith (Flint, MI / Flint Powers Catholic) just missed on the bottom left and Oliver Akintade (Lake Forest, IL / Lake Forest) missed wide left.
Trine played great defense after the early opportunities by Calvin and countered with some good attacks but struggled to maintain possession on Calvin's side of the field. The Knights continued to keep the pressure on and broke through in the 34th minute of the game. A fantastic cross from Evan Nieuwenhuis (Hudsonville, MI / Unity Christian) and a slight header deflection from Smith rushing to the near post put Calvin up 1-0.
Calvin didn't stop scoring there as it was able to put away another goal before halftime. In the 42nd minute of the game, a breakaway run and cross by Luca Seazzu (Albuquerque, NM / Albuquerque) in the corner set up Seasmus Kilgallon (Plainfield, IL / Wheaton Academy) to put it in the back of the net. This put the Knights 2-0 heading into halftime.
The second half began with some back-and-forth action until the 60th minute of the match. Trine had a clean look from just inside the eighteen-yard line and Daniel Wunder (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) made a great diving save to stop the Thunder. A few minutes later the Knights scored with a beautiful cross from Seazzu to Akintade to extend their lead to 3-0.
The Thunder couldn't find an answer throughout the rest of the game as the Knights' defense held strong throughout the night. Seazzu finished with two assists while Smith, Akintade and S. Kilgallon all had a goal each. The Knights outshot the Thunder 19-4 on the evening and Wunder finished with two saves.
COACHES COMMENT: "It was a really good win tonight," said Calvin head men's soccer coach Ryan Souders. "That's a much-improved Trine team. They are well-coached and very committed. I thought we scored three great goals. It was also great to get strong support from our defense and get the shutout. Now we'll look forward to resting up and getting ready for another home game next week."
UP NEXT: Calvin will host Adrian on Tuesday March 30 at Zuidema Field with kickoff set for 7 p.m.
