KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's soccer team played its first home game in 15 days against Illinois Tech on Wednesday evening (Sept. 21). The Scarlet Hawks came in with a 5-2 record, but the Hornets completed a 2-1 comeback for the upset win. After giving up an early goal in the first half, Kalamazoo flipped the script in the second by scoring two goals.
To begin the first half, the Hornets consistently possessed the ball on their offensive side of the field for the first 10 minutes. Then, however, Illinois Tech started gaining some momentum that turned into a goal in the 15th minute. It was the Scarlet Hawks' first shot of the game, with Michael Kaczowka getting credit for the goal. For the rest of the half, only two more shots were taken by Kalamazoo, and the score remained 1-0 at the half.
After some adjustments to the effort and lineup at halftime, the Hornets pushed the pace to open the second frame. That paid off in the 50th minute when Aidan Gillig slid the ball over to Jeremiah Heath in the box, and the ball ended up in the back of the net. The goal off Heath's left foot was the first collegiate goal of his career, and it tied the score up at one. Kalamazoo continued to put pressure on the Illinois Tech defense with 10 total shots in the second frame. The game-winning goal came in the 66th as it was Gillig on the scoring end this time. Shun Yonehara sent in a corner kick from the far side, and after the ball bounced once, Gillig put his first goal of the season right past the head of the goalkeeper. After that, the Hornet defense shut down what little pressure they saw in the second half to hold on for the 2-1 victory.
Alex Kish (1-0) made the first start of his Hornet career and got the win in the net. Kalamazoo totaled more shots (15-5) and corner kicks (8-2) in the game, while Illinois Tech had more saves (5-0) and fouls (16-15).
The Hornets will have a six-day layoff before traveling to South Bend, Ind., to take on an NCAA DI opponent in Notre Dame. Kickoff is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at Alumni Stadium.