GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Calvin rolled to a 5-0 victory over Cornerstone Tuesday night in another men's soccer edition of the "Battle of the Beltline."
Ranked 15
th nationally, Calvin led 3-0 at halftime and controlled the match from start-to-finish, adding two goals in the second half to improve to 7-1-1 on the season.
Calvin pressured early and found the back of the net on a blast by junior midfielder
James Jackson (Cleves, Oh./Saint Xavier HS) with Jackson smacking a ball that had been momentarily cleared out of the 18-yard box by the Cornerstone defense.
The Knights scored twice in the closing minutes of the first half, both times off the foot of freshman
Zach Heisler (Saline, Mich./Saline HS).
In the 35
th minute, senior
Hans Pruis (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) sent a cross into the box that senior
Zac Brooks (Lone Tree, Colo./Valor Christian HS) collected and rapped a shot that was saved by Cornerstone goalkeeper Caleb Vissia. The rebound came right to the feet of Heisler who tapped in a shot on the doorstep, giving Brooks an assist on the play.
Heisler then scored in the 40
th minute, redirecting a cross from senior
Foster Garrett (Canton, Mich./Salem HS) into the net from point-black distance for a 3-0 halftime advantage.
Calvin came out flying in the second half and found the back of the net again in the 63
rd minute with senior
Chase Alexandre (Brighton, N.Y./Brighton HS) banging in his fourth goal of the year, doing so off a feed from junior
Colin Nieuwenhuis (Jenison, Mich./Unity Christian HS).
In the 81
st minute, sophomore
Kaden Roskowski (Bend, Ore. /Summit HS) bent in a shot from outside the 18-yard box. The momentum of the shot carried the goalkeeper's arms with the ball across the goal-line for the final score of the match.
Calvin finished with a 24-4 shots at goal advantage. Three Calvin goalkeepers – junior John Hartgett (Powell, Oh./Olentangy HS), senior
Giancarlo Acosta (Bernardsville, N.J. Bernards) and freshman
Wesley Gebhart (Bentonville, Ark. Bentonville West) combined on the shutout in goal for the Knights. Vissia had seven saves in goal for Cornerstone.
COACHES COMMENT: "Thought it took us a while to get up to speed but then we were able to create some really good things," said Calvin head men's soccer coach
Ryan Souders. "Cornerstone made it tough with their discipline, but we just talked about staying committed and believing we'd create chances. What a night for a game. As always, thanks so much to Knight Nation for its support tonight."
NEXT UP: Calvin will travel to Wheaton (Ill.) on Saturday for a 7 p.m. (CT) match.
