GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Fresh off a new national ranking, the No. 22 Calvin men's soccer team was forced to dig deep Tuesday night to find victory in its annual Battle of the Beltline matchup with Cornerstone University.

Calvin (5-1-0) overcame a 1-0 second half deficit with a pair of goals five minutes apart to grab a 2-1 advantage and eventually pull ahead for the win.

The Knights threatened late in the first half and rang the crossbar on a shot from the top of the 18-yard box in the 37^th minute by sophomore Jake Ziolo (Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome). Two minutes later, freshman Toby Simeone (Riverside, Australia/St. Patrick's College) barreled through the back line and cranked a hard shot that Cornerstone goalkeeper Roberto Gutierrez was able to turn aside with a leaping save.

Early in the second half, Cornerstone received a penalty kick after an attacker making a run on a counterattack was pulled down in the box while slicing between a pair of Calvin defenders. Cornerstone's Tyler Corstange stepped up and converted the penalty kick with a hard shot to the right corner to put the Golden Eagles up 1-0 in the 53^rd minute of play.

Calvin upped the tempo and received a throw-in deep in Cornerstone territory. Off the throw-in, Calvin sent a cross into the six-yard box that was headed on frame by senior Jonah Meyer-Crothers (Sylvania, Oh./Sylvania Northview HS). Meyer-Crother's shot was saved momentarily by Gutierrez but the deflection came right to junior Matt Torrell (Rochester, N.Y. /The Charles Finney School) who nodded home the rebound into a wide-open goal to tie the contest 1-1. The goal was Torrell's team-leading fifth goal of the season with Meyer-Crothers drawing an assist on the play which took place in the 59^th minute.

The Knights continued to pressure and found gold five minutes later when freshman Will Lanham (Commerce Township, Mich./Notre Dame Prep) flicked a right-footed shot over Gutierrez from the left side of the box after receiving a toe-poke pass from Simeone. The play began with a well-placed cross by Ziolo. The goal by Lanham was the first of his collegiate career and gave Calvin a 2-1 lead.

Calvin maintained the lion's share of possession the rest of the match to push on the for the win over the hard-charging Golden Eagles (2-3-0).

Calvin finished the match with a 15-5 shots at goal advantage.

Sophomore John Hargett (Powell, Ohio/Olentangy) came up with two saves for Calvin in goal while Gutierrez had four saves in goal for Cornerstone.

COACHES COMMENT: "Never upset about (the win) and 3 points," said Calvin head men's soccer coach Ryan Souders. "Cornerstone was stingy and made it really difficult. I thought we did some great stuff on the ball and just struggled in the final third. At the same time, was really happy with how some of our younger guys stepped up late to help get the win. We have to rest up and get ready for a hungry Grove City College group on Saturday night where we are excited to welcome back many of our alumns!"

NEXT UP: Calvin will host Grove City College on Saturday at 6 p.m. Included in the evening festivities will be a reunion of Calvin men's soccer players from its 2004 and 2005 NCAA III Tournament teams.