GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin men's lacrosse team welcomed the Britons of Albion for its final game of the 2025 regular season where its last-minute comeback came up just short.
After today the Knights fell to a 6-9 overall record and a 3-3 MIAA record while Albion improved to 9-7 overall and 4-1 in MIAA play.
In the first quarter the Brits dominated the scoreboard as they outscored the Knights 4-1. The Knights lone goal that quarter came from junior David Blackmon (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton North) off an assist from senior Thomas Smith (Grosse Pointe Farms, Mich./Grosse Pointe South).
In the second quarter, despite Albion recording the first goal, the Knights looked to bounce back as sophomore Drew Garrison (Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) took advantage of an open net and scored from the defensive side of the field. A few minutes later Jordan Warners (Orange, Calif./Crean Lutheran) found the back off the net with an assist from Cole McKenney (Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills).
With just under six minutes left to play in the quarter, face-off specialist Nate Hanson (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) made a huge play as he won the face-off and immediately barrelled down the field to send the ball past the Briton goalkeeper to cut the Albion lead to one. Albion answered with a goal of their own a few minutes later and Calvin went into halftime trailing 4-6.
As the second half got underway Blackmon took over as he added three goals to his total thanks to assists from McKenney and Warners. However, Albion remained in control and headed into the fourth with a one goal lead.
In the fourth quarter, both teams continued to exchange goals as both battled for momentum. Halfway through the period Albion went on a scoring run as they netted four straight goals to take a 15-10 with just three minutes left on the clock. With time running out, the Knights locked in and went to work as Blackmon and Braden Carpenter (Nobelsville, Ind./Nobelsville) gave Calvin life with two quick goals. Shortly after, Smith found the back of the net before Carpenter found a streaking McKenney and the Albion lead was cut to one.
However, with less than a minute to play, the Britons won the faceoff and remained in possession as the final seconds ran off the clock as the Calvin comeback fell just short.
Blackmon finished with a team high six goals while McKenney recorded three assists. Hanson won 23 of his 31 faceoff attempts while Garrison had a team high in caused turnovers with three.
After the game, the Knights took time to honor their senior class and thank them for their contributions to the Calvin men's lacrosse program. This year's senior class consisted of Smith, Cole McKenney, Nick Griffith (Geneva, Fla./Oviedo), Jacob Bledose (Mission Viejo, Calif./J. Serra Catholic), Chuck McKenney (Mission Viejo, Calif./Trabuco Hills), Brandon Eenigenburg (Norton Shores, Mich./Western Michigan Christian), August Bryan (Elburn, Ill./Marmion Academy), Christian Coler (Ionia, N.Y./Honeyoye Falls-Lima), Josh Gage (Livonia, Mich./Detroit Catholic Central), Dylan Mount (Lindenhurst, Ill./Lakes Community), Tristan Windham (Parker, Colo./Lutheran), Carter Sherman (Ada, Mich./Lowell), Reid Bentz (Highland, Mich./Milford), Joshua Moyer (Allentown, Pa./Allentown Central Catholic), and Ryan Westra (Pequannock, N.J./Eastern Christian).
COACHES COMMENTS: "I was proud of the way our guys battled today," said head coach Dave Hoger. "It was a hard fought game and we played until the last whistle. We had an opportunity to tie the game in the final seconds and that's how you want your guys to respond to adversity. While we didn't come out on top, we got to celebrate our seniors today and their commitment to our program for 4 years. We are excited to play a home playoff game next week and keep getting better."
UP NEXT: Calvin will await the outcome of the rest of today's MIAA contest to determine seeding as they look forward to the MIAA Tournament.
