The Calvin University men's soccer team will face the University of Chicago in a Round of 16 NCAA III Tournament game on Friday afternoon at noon (CST) on the campus of Chicago. The game will be played at Chicago's Stagg Field.

The Teams: Calvin is ranked 10^th nationally and is 18-2-1 overall. Chicago is ranked 21st nationally and is 11-2-5 on the season. Calvin carries an unbeaten streak of 13 games into Friday's matchup while Chicago has an unbeaten streak of seven games. Calvin is a member of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) while Chicago is a member of the University Athletic Association (UAA).

The Series – Friday's game will be the 9^th meeting between Calvin and Chicago in a series that dates back to 2017 and sees Chicago holding a 5-2-1 series advantage and having won three of the last four meetings. Calvin secured a 1-1 tie with Chicago earlier this season back on September 27. Calvin's two wins came in a span of 10 months as it defeated Chicago 4-1 in a national semifinal game in 2018 and then 2-1 at Calvin in September of 2019. The two teams have met three times in the NCAA III Tournament with Chicago winning two of the three matchups.

First Matchup – Calvin and Chicago drew 1-1 on September 27 at Stagg Field. It marked Calvin's first-ever result at Chicago. Calvin's Colin Iverson scored in the second minute of play with Chicago's Lyndon Hu scoring in the 63^rd minute. Chicago held a 16-5 shots at goal advantage in the match.

The Coaches: Ryan Souders is in his 12^th year at the helm of the Calvin men's soccer program. He has a career won-loss record of 220-30-12 (.855) that ranks second amongst all active Division III men's soccer coaches in terms of win percentage. He has led Calvin to 12 MIAA regular season titles, nine MIAA Tournament titles and 10 trips to the NCAA III Tournament. He has led Calvin to the NCAA III Championship final twice (2016 & 2018) and to the NCAA III Final Four four times (2015, 2016, 2018, 2019). Chicago is under the direction of first-year head coach Phillip Kroft. He previously served as head coach at Johnson and Wales in Rhode Island. Kroft and Souders both share a common trait as both individuals served as assistant coaches at Davidson College prior to becoming head coaches.   

In the NCAA III Tournament - Calvin is making its 20^th appearance in the NCAA III Tournament including its 10th under head coach Ryan Souders. The Knights are 39-21-6 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play, reaching the national championship final four times (2009, 2011, 2016 & 2018) and the NCAA III Final Four six times (2009, 2011, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019).

The Players: Calvin is led in scoring by senior Chris Schau with 36 points (15 goals, 6 assists) while senior Oliver Akintade is close behind with 34 points (13 goals, 8 assists). Junior Alex White has 26 points (7 goals, 12 assists) and is ranked sixth nationally in total assists. Defensively, senior centerbacks Colin Iverson and Aguma Muhumaza patrol the Calvin backline. Senior goalkeeper Daniel Wunder has a school-record 39 shutouts in his collegiate career and has a goals-against-average of 0.70 with 67 saves. Chicago is led in scoring by Ryan Yetishefsky with 27 points (11 goals, 5 assists). Robbie Pino has 16 points (6 goals, 4 assists while Jack Leuker has 11 points (3 goals, 5 assists). Yetishefsky was named the Co-UAA Offensive Player of the Year while Leuker was named the UAA-Defensive Player of the Year. Will Boyes was an All-UAA Second Team selection in goal for Chicago. He sports a goals-against-average of 0.84 with 51 saves.

Tale of the Tape: Calvin has scored 75 goals and is averaging 3.57 goals-per-game on offense which ranks third in Division III in scoring offense. Chicago has scored 35 goals and is averaging 1.94 goals-per-game. On defense, the Maroons have allowed 15 goals for an average of 0.83 goals-per-game.

Media Coverage:

*Live Video will be available at: https://athletics.uchicago.edu/sports/2023/7/21/m-soccer-live-video.aspx

*Live Statistics will be available at:  https://athletics.uchicago.edu/sidearmstats/msoc/summary

Ticket Info: Adults: $10.00; Students (with ID)/Seniors: $5.00; Children (ages 3-12): $3.00; Children (under 3): Free 

Tickets will be available for purchase one hour prior to game time and all sales are CASH ONLY
 

Social Media: Calvin athletics is represented on Facebook (Calvin Knights), Twitter/X (@CalvinKnights), Instagram (@CalvinAthletics) and TikTok (@calvinathletics). Follow all the happenings of Calvin University on social media by using the hashtag "#GoCalvin".