NCAA III MEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT BRACKET

The Calvin men's soccer team will face Hamilton College in a first round NCAA III Tournament game on the campus of Kenyon College Friday at 1:30 p.m. (ET) in Gambier, Ohio.

Friday's contest will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools in men's soccer.

Host Kenyon (12-3-3) will face Spalding University (11-7-2) in the opening first round game on Friday at 11 a.m. with Friday's first round winners meeting Saturday in the regional final at 1 p.m.

Calvin has never faced Spalding in men's soccer. The Knights are 3-2-0 all-time against Kenyon in men's soccer.

Single game tournament ticket prices are $10 for adults, $5 for seniors and students, and $3 for children ages 3-12. Please be aware that only cash will be accepted at the ticket gate.

HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW: The match will be live-streamed through Trine's Hudl channel at: Calvin-Hamilton Live Stream. It will also feature live stats at: Calvin-Hamilton Live Stats Scoreboard
 
IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT – Calvin is making its 10^th straight appearance in the NCAA III Tournament including its 11^th under current head coach Ryan Souders. Calvin has now made the NCAA III Tournament 15 out of the last 17 years with the Covid pandemic wiping out the 2020 NCAA III Tournament. The Knights are making their 21^st trip overall to the tournament and are 39-21-7 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play. The Knights advanced to the national semifinals in 2015 and 2019 and to the NCAA III Finals in 2009, 2011, 2016 and 2018.

ABOUT CALVIN – Calvin comes into the match with a 14-5-2 overall record. Calvin finished third in the MIAA standings with a 4-1-2 conference mark this fall. Calvin will carry an eight-game unbeaten streak into Friday's game, having gone 7-0-1 over its last eight including a 2-1 win at Trine Saturday night in the MIAA Tournament finals. Freshman Xtreme Hauk scored both Calvin's goals with senior Kaelen Matascastillo making a key penalty kick save in the first half. The Knights have featured a balanced scoring attack with 12 different individuals netting at least one goal this season. Senior Alex White leads Calvin in scoring with 22 goal contributions notching 16 goals, six assists and 38 points. He has four game-winning goals on the season Freshman Xtreme Hauk has seven goals, three assists and 17 points. Freshman Colin Nieuwenhuis is next on the Calvin score sheet with 14 points on the strength of six goals and two assists. He has three game-winning goals on the season. Sophomore Quinten Latchett has been a key sub off the bench with five goals, one assist and 11 points. Senior centerback Jacob Goodling has been a key on defense and offense. He has four goals on the year including a game-winning goal in the closing minutes of a 3-2 win over the University of Chicago on October 2. Calvin's goalkeeping has been split between seniors Kaelen Matascastillo and Jacob Moore. Matascastillo has 45 saves and a goals-against-average of 1.54. Moore has a 0.72 goals-against-average and 22 saves.

THE CALVIN COACH – Calvin is led by head men's soccer coach Ryan Souders who is in his 13^th season at the helm of the Knights. Souders is a 2007 graduate of Wheaton College. At Wheaton he was the starting goalkeeper on a Thunder side that reached the Division III National Championship final in 2006. He is 234-35-15 in 13 years at Calvin and has led the Knights to 12 MIAA regular season championships. He led Calvin to the national championship final in 2016 and 2018 and to NCAA III Final Fours in 2015, 2016, 2018 and 2019. Souders was recently named MIAA Men's Soccer Coach of the Year for the second straight season.

POST-SEASON AWARDS – Calvin landed five individuals on the All-MIAA teams released earlier this week. Hauk, White, Goodling and freshman outside back Jake Ziolo were all named to the All-MIAA First Team while senior midfielder Nick Augustyn was named to the All-MIAA Second Team. In addition, Hauk was named the MIAA's Newcomer of the Year while senior centerback Reed Vanderlugt was named the recipient of the MIAA's. Dr. Marvin A. Zuidema Award – given to a senior who displays contributions to team play, leadership qualities, demonstration of ethical virtues and excellence in both athletics and academics.

ABOUT HAMILTON – Hamilton enters Friday's match with an overall record of 7-6-3. Located in Clinton, New York, Hamilton is a member of the rugged New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). The Continentals received an at-large bid to the NCAA III Tournament with their most-recent game, a 4-2 loss to No. 3 Middlebury on November 2. Senior Luke Peplowski leads Hamilton in scoring with eight goals, two assists and 18 points. Luke Ehrenfreund is next with a goal, four assists and six points. Patrick Ferrare has three goals and six points. Finn Wheeler has been the primary goalkeeper for Hamilton, producing a goals-against-average of 1.21 and 46 saves. Hamilton is making its fifth appearance in the NCAA III Tournament including its first since 2007.  

THE HAMILTON COACH – Hamilton is led by veteran head coach Perry Nizzi who has been at the helm of the Continentals since 1997. He has won over 200 games in his collegiate career and has a winning percentage of .590. He took Hamilton to the NCAA III Quarterfinals in 2000.  He is a graduate of Cortland State University.