ANGOLA, Ind. – The Calvin University men's soccer team defeated Trine University 2-1 on Saturday night.
 
The win marked the Knights' 11th MIAA Tournament crown and secured the program an automatic bid to its 10th consecutive NCAA III Tournament. It will also be the 11th NCAA III Tournament bid in the tenure of Calvin head coach Ryan Souders.
 
In the first meeting between the two programs in October, Trine (7-7-3) scored an early goal that pushed the Thunder to a 2-0 win.
 
In Saturday's rematch, Calvin (14-5-2) was able to flip the script thanks to an early goal by Xtreme Hauk (Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) in the game's 10th minute off a pass from Foster Garrett (Canton, Mich./Salem) to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.
 
The Thunder had a great opportunity to answer in the 22nd minute on a penalty kick, but Calvin keeper Kaelen Matascastillo (New Kensington, Pa./Minnesota Virtual Academy) was up to the task with a diving stop to his left to keep the Knights in front.
 
The Knights added to their lead in the 28th minute when a long crossing pass from Reed Vanderlugt (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) found Hauk in front of the goal and the freshman forward kicked it into the open net for his second goal of the game and his seventh of the season.
 
Calvin kept its 2-0 lead until the 75th minute when Djimo Kouyate put the Thunder on the board and cut the Knights' lead in half with nearly 16 minutes remaining to set up an exciting finish.
 
The Thunder looked for the equalizer down the stretch, but the Knights remained composed and thwarted any Trine attacks in the final minutes to secure the one-goal win.
 
Hauk finished with three of the Knights' nine total shots, including two of the team's five shots on goal.
 
COACH'S COMMENT: "Really proud of our group tonight," Souders said. "In some ways tonight modeled our season thus far. It wasn't always pretty. Things didn't always go our way, but these guys were able to find a way to get the win. That's a really good Trine side, and Coach Avery is truly one of the best in the business. But somewhow we found a way. Created some good chances and certainly bent without ultimately breaking. A huge performance from our seniors, obiously highlighted by that huge PK save by Kaelen. They've been here and they were ready to go. Very happy to be going to the NCAA Tournament with this group."
 
NEXT UP: Calvin men's soccer will learn its next opponent when the NCAA announces the Division III Tournament bracket on Monday, November 11, during the Selection Show on the NCAA website at 1:30 PM.