GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - In game that had MIAA regular season championship implications, the Calvin men's lacrosse team was edged by Albion 12-10.

The Britons claim the MIAA regular season title with a 6-0 record with Calvin finishing close behind at 4-1.

The Saturday night contest featured an electric atmosphere as fans from both sides knew that an MIAA regular season crown was at stake.

The game lived up to its billing as the game was tied six times and featured a pair of lead changes.

Albion (12-1 overall) grabbed the first goal of the game, scoring with 8:49 left in the first quarter on a man-up opportunity. Sophomore Ethan Curtis (Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Northern HS) tied the score on a bullet shot from the left wing on a feed from junior Nick Dueweke (Clarkston, Mich./Notre Dame Prep) with 4:13 left in the first quarter. The Britons found the back of the net with 1:39 left to take a 2-1 lead after one quarter of play.

Calvin (7-3 overall) scored back-to-back goals to take a 3-2 lead early in the second quarter. Senior Nathan Jindra (South Bend, Ind./John Adams HS) scored three minutes into the second quarter to tie the score and Dueweke fired one in three minutes later to put the Knights up 3-2.

Albion scored the final three goals of the quarter however including a goal as time expired on the second quarter to take a 5-3 halftime lead.

Undaunted, Calvin opened the third quarter with goals from Dueweke and Jindra to knot the score 5-5. The two sides traded goals the rest of the quarter with Sam Puzevic scoring twice for Albion while junior Drew Stoneburner (Wheaton, Il./Wheaton North HS) and sophomore Robert Miner (Littleton, Co./Columbine HS) scored for Calvin as the game headed into the fourth quarter tied 7-7.

Albion grabbed the momentum by scoring three of the first four goals of the fourth quarter to build a 10-8 lead. Calvin got within a goal twice in the final 8:01 of play. Junior Chase Sparling (Novi, Mich./Novi HS) scored on a man-up goal with Jindra drawing the assist to make the score 10-9. Albion answered a minute-and-a-half later to take an 11-9 lead. Stoneburner scored unassisted for Calvin to make it a one-goal game with 4:43 left but Albion's Puzevic scored a minute later. The Britons were able to burn nearly two minutes off the clock after forcing a Calvin turnover shortly after. The Knights were unable to fire off a shot in the closing minute-and-a-half of the game as the Britons held on for the 12-10 win.

Stoneburner led Calvin in scoring with three goals and one assist. Dueweke and Jindra had two goals apiece for the Knights with Jindra drawing two assists and Dueweke one. Sparling had a goal and two assists. Curtis had a goal and an assist while Miner had one goal. Sparling had 13 ground balls and was 14 of 17 on faceoff opportunities.

The heavy hitting affair featured 62 turnovers between the two teams with senior Jacob Lopez (Mentor, Oh./Mentor HS) causing five Albion turnovers and senior Ethan Boelens (Round Lake, Il./Grayslake Central HS) causing four.

Junior Evan Grifffin (Howell, Mich./Hartland HS) had 17 saves in goal for the Knights. Puzevich led the Albion attack with seven goals.

Prior to the game, Calvin honored members of its 2020 senior class that were unable to participate due to the Covid-19 pandemic as well as its 2021 senior class.

COACHES COMMENT: "I'm so proud of our guys and their effort tonight," said Calvin head men's lacrosse coach Dave Hoger. "We played a fantastic game against a very talented team. We're excited to grow from this opportunity and take this experience into the (MIAA Tournament) playoffs next week. A special shout out to our parents and fans tonight as well. They were great tonight. We appreciate them so much. They created a terrific atmosphere which our guys are so appreciative of."

NEXT UP: Calvin will host Kalamazoo in an MIAA Tournament quarterfinal game on Saturday, May 1.