ALBION, Mich. – In a hard-fought physical matchup, Calvin gained a 0-0 tie at Albion Tuesday night.
Ranked 12
th nationally, Calvin (10-1-2) was outshot 7-6 but the Knights had higher quality scoring chances.
Calvin came close in the opening three minutes as a shot by senior
Matt Torrell (Rochester, N.Y. /The Charles Finney School) was ticketed for the far corner but was saved by Albion goalkeeper Tom Veresh on a diving stop.
In the 55
th minute, Calvin junior
Colin Nieuwenhuis (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS) got behind the Albion backline, but his shot went wide off the post as he dealt with heavy defensive pressure trailing him on the play.
In the 66
th minute, Calvin received a free kick deep in the Albion third and sophomore
Pol Sabe (Barcelona, Spain/Col-legi Montserrat) stepped up and headed a shot that beat Veresh but clanged off the crossbar to keep the game level.
Ball possession was fiercely fought, and the Knights were victimized by several aggressive challenges by the Britons that resulted in five yellow cards and an eventual red card. The red card came with just 3:19 left in regulation however, with the Knights unable to generate another high quality scoring chance in the final stages, ending the match in a draw.
Calvin junior goalkeeper
John Hargett (Powell, Oh./Olentangy HS) went the distance in goal for the Knights to gain his fifth clean sheet of the season. Veresh went the distance in goal for Albion.
With the draw, Calvin falls out of first place in the MIAA standings, at 2-0-1 in league play (7 points) with Kalamazoo moving into sole possession of first place (3-0-0/9 points) in the league table.
Albion and Hope are tied for third at 1-0-2 (5 points).
COACHES COMMENT: "Certainly an exciting college soccer match," said Calvin head men's soccer coach
Ryan Souders. "Credit Albion for executing its game plan really well and making the match difficult for us. Really proud of the effort tonight; from everyone. We shortened the bench a bit but that didn't deter the entire group's attitude. We'll have to rest up quicly for another difficult road test Friday. We'll need all of Knight Nation out there to help support!"
NEXT UP: Calvin travels to Hope on Friday for a 6 p.m. rivalry match.
