GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The 14th-ranked Calvin University men's soccer team was dominant from start to finish in an 8-0 win over Alma College at Calvin Soccer Stadium on Saturday night.
Calvin (10-1-1, 2-0-0 MIAA) celebrated senior night in style as seniors
Matt Torrell (Webster, N.Y./The Charles Finney School/Liberty University),
Zac Brooks (Lone Tree, Colo./Valor Christian/Cedarville University) and
Ryan Augustyn (Westmont, Ill./Benet Academy) each scored one goal and
Omar Hadzimujic (Ada, Mich./Forest Hills Central/St. Cloud State University) added the first two goals of his Calvin career on the night they were each honored (along with three others) at halftime.
Colin Nieuwenhuis (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) put the Knights on the board early on a penalty kick in the second minute and the score remained 1-0 until the final 75 seconds of the first half.
In the 44th minute, Brooks headed home a
Mats Bramer (Dortmund, Germany/Bert-Brecht Gymnasium/Robert Morris University) corner kick to give the Knights a 2-0 lead, and
Foster Garrett (Caton, Mich./Salem) followed 21 seconds later with an unassisted goal from outside the box in the 45th minute to send Calvin into halftime with a 3-0 advantage.
Torrell pushed the lead to 4-0 in the 57th minute off a pass into the box from Nieuwenhuis for his eighth goal of the season and
Max Bailey (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) extended the lead to 5-0 in the 71st minute off an assist from Augustyn.
In the final six minutes, Hadzimujic scored his first goal off a pass from Augustyn and then added another three minutes later off an
Odis Fickel (Holland, Mich./Holland) corner kick. Augustyn finished the scoring in the final minute with a goal off an assist from Bailey to finish off the 8-0 win.
Calvin outshot Alma (4-7-0, 0-2-0) 26-1 for the match and held a 17-1 advantage in shots on goal.
The early goal from Nieuwenhuis was his seventh of the season. Brooks and Bailey now have two goals while Garrett picked up his third. Augustyn's tally was his first of the season and he also added two assists.
The Knights extended their winning streak to nine with the win, including four shutouts in a row.
COACH'S COMMENT: "Great to get a win at home tonight," head coach
Ryan Souders said. "Especially fun to honor our seniors tonight. Such a special group and being able to celebrate them was special. Also important are three points in league. We have a really tough road test Tuesday and we'll have to recover quickly to be prepared for it."
NEXT UP: Calvin men's soccer will return to action on Tuesday, October 13, when it travels to Albion College for a 7:00 PM contest.
