Kalamazoo battled the Principia Panthers on Friday night in the season opener for both teams at the neutral site of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. Despite the game being pushed back nearly two hours due to thunder and lightning the Hornets came out of the gates strong with fresh legs and never looked back as they went on to shut out Principia 3-0.
Junior forward Roger Mason Darling got things started for Kalamazoo early, putting in a goal in the fourth minute of the game with an assist from sophomore Cal Kirchen. Twenty-six minutes later Kalamazoo sophomore Kyle Hernandez put the Hornets up 2-0 with his first goal of the season.
Kalamazoo played lockdown defense throughout the night. They only allowed the Panthers four shots, and none of them were on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Beau Prey probably didn't mind the fact that he finished the game with no saves, because he didn't have any shots to save.
The Hornets scored their third goal of the game right at the beginning of the second half when Darling found the back of the net for the second time. The Hornets held that lead until the final buzzer and left the field with the 3-0 victory and a 1-0 record for the season.
Kalamazoo will play against Rose-Hulman on the same field tomorrow at 4 p.m. The Hornets are hoping that the weather will be a little better, but that the end result of the game will stay the same.