A first-half strike from forward Seth Wolters and five second-half saves from sophomore goalkeeper
Daniel Morgan lifted the Hope College men's soccer team to a 1-1 draw against Calvin University in Tuesday's MIAA opener.
The crowd of 1,016 at Van Andel Soccer Stadium was the fifth-largest to see an NCAA Division III game this season.
The draw was the second in the past three matches between the two teams. They entered the season ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll.
"We're not OK with the tie. We wanted to win the game and expected to win the game," head coach
David Blahnik said. "At the same time, it's a rivalry game. There's always going to be ups and downs. We're going to have moments; they're going to have moments. Two extremely talented teams that are going to go back and forth.
"Even though we don't like ties in the soccer world, the games have been pretty close lately — two top teams going after each other. Kudos to Coach Ryan Souders and their team; they're a great team. We're going to keep grinding and push through."
Hope (4-5-2 overall) struck first after early control of possession set up Wolters (St. Joseph, Michigan / St. Joseph) for his fourth goal of the season.
Wolters buried a rebound in the 25th minute after Knights goalkeeper Zac Moore turned away rapid-fire shots from sophomore
Benjamin Smitley (Wyoming, Michigan / Grand Rapids Catholic Central) and junior
Micah Wieland (Bristol, Indiana / Northridge).
Calvin (8-2-1) answered quickly. Zac Brooks scored the tying goal 1 ½ minutes later from 12 yards out on the wing off a feed from Matt Torrell.
The Flying Dutchmen finished with a 12-8 shot advantage, but Calvin flipped control after halftime. The Knights held Hope without a shot in the second half while attempting 13 of their own.
Calvin had a second-half go-ahead goal waved off by an offside call. Morgan made several clutch saves, including one late that he deflected off the crossbar.
"Dan was a beast," Blahnik said. "He hasn't played in a couple of weeks because of an injury, but he knew he was ready and wanted to be in this game. We trust him, and he did exactly what we knew he was capable of doing. He kept us in the game at moments, just like their keeper did."
Hope's next game is Saturday, Oct. 11, at 3 p.m. at The University of Olivet.
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