(Photo by Jeff Wocjik)

ALMA, Mich. - Calvin men's soccer gathered a hard-fought 1-0 overtime win on Monday afternoon at Alma.

Freshman Oliver Akintade (Lake Forest, Il./Lake Forest HS) scored the only goal of the game, doing so in the first minute of overtime.

The game started out as slow with neither team getting an early look at goal. The Scots had a few shots, but nothing close. The Knights found a good chance when Seamus Kilgallon (Plainfield, IL / Wheaton Academy) went down the side and cut back to the middle to shoot, but Alma goalkeeper Chris Henry made the save.

Alma was playing five men in a low defense block to try and hold the Calvin offensive attack. Both defenses were holding strong in the first half as neither team could break through. Calvin had some great chances in the closing minutes of the first half. Close attempts by Oliver Akintande (Lake Forest, IL / Lake Forest), Alex Bowser (Canton, MI / Plymouth), Shay Smith (Columbus, OH / Worthington Christian), and Jon Szydlowski (Twinsburg, OH / Twinsburg) kept Calvin in control of the possession in the first half.

The Knights outshot the Scots 9-3 in the half and had a 3-1 edge in corner kicks. Calvin again was dominate in possession in the second half. The Knights pushed forward on several attempts, but the Alma defense continued to hold off the attacks. Evan Niewenhuis (Hudsonville, MI / Unity Christian) put a shot on goal, but Henry was there again to make the save. Senior Drew Van Andel (Grand Haven, MI / Grand Haven) came up with a dangerous header, but his shot just went over the goal in the 70th minute. Smith and Akintade mad bids for goals in the closing minutes of regulation, but Alma was able to keep the Knights from scoring, sending the contest into overtime.

In the first minute of overtime the ball was just outside Alma's box with the ball bouncing free. Akintade gained control and shot it to the lower opposite corner and scored. This gave the Knights the 1-0 win and they improve to 5-1 on the season and 4-0 in the MIAA. Calvin finished with a 26-4 shots at goal advantage. Sophomore Daniel Wunder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) had two saves in goal for the Knights. Henry had five saves for the Scots.

COACHES COMMENTS: "Always good to get a road win," said Head Coach Ryan Souders. "Winning is hard. And Alma made it really hard today. Credit to coach Greer and their group for their performance. We'll try to rest up quick and prep for Kalamazoo on Thursday."

UP NEXT: The Knights will travel to Kalamazoo on Thursday April 8 with kickoff at 6 p.m.