GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Calvin improved to 6-0-0 on the year with a 3-1 non-conference win over Holy Cross College Tuesday night at Zuidema Field.
Facing the Saints for the second time in as many seasons, Calvin struck for the opening goal in the 11
th minute of play as sophomore
Hans Pruis (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) ran onto a well-placed cross into the box from sophomore teammate
Jonah Meyer-Crothers (Sylvania, Oh./Sylvania Northview HS) and ricocheted a shot into the back of the net.
Holy Cross (2-4-0) began to press the attack in the waning moments of the first half and kept the pressure on early in the second half. The pressure paid off with a looping shot from a tight angle by Juan Perez in the 51
st minute that tucked just inside the far post to level the score 1-1.
Calvin regained its foothold on the game and began to possess the ball with frequency. In the 66
th minute, senior
Oliver Akintade (Lake Forest, Il./Lake Forest Academy) latched onto a one-two pass from sophomore teammate
Jacob Ryu (Naperville, Il./Naperville North HS) and slipped a shot past Holy Cross goalkeeper Armin Mahmutovic for a 2-1 Calvin lead.
With 5:41 left in regulation, a Calvin attacker was tripped up inside the 18-yard box with the Knights awarded a penalty kick for the infraction.
Ryu stepped up to take the spot kick and made no mistake, rifling a shot into the back of the net to complete the scoring and seal the win.
Each team fired 12 shots at goal. Senior
Daniel Wunder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) and freshman
Daniel Morgan (Holland, Mich./Holland Christan HS) split time in goal for Calvin in the win with Wunder posting a spotless opening 45 minutes while Morgan came up with three saves over the final 45 minutes of action.
COACHES COMMENT: "Good to get a win against a talented and determined Holy Cross team tonight," said Calvin head men's soccer coach
Ryan Souders. "We found a way to come up with enough good scoring combinations to get the three points. Now we've got to put this one in the rear view mirror and get ready for another challenging trip down to the state of Ohio."
NEXT UP: Calvin returns to action on Saturday when it travels to Mount Union for a game set to begin at 5 p.m. in Alliance, Ohio.