The Kalamazoo men's soccer team faced off against No. 4 Chicago in a tough season opener on Thursday evening (Sept. 1) at MacKenzie Field. The Hornets held the Maroons in check until late in the first half as UC scored the only goal of the game, dropping Kalamazoo by a 1-0 score.
In a physical game that saw 27 fouls and four yellow cards given out to both teams, the Hornets and Maroons battled in the midfield for most of the first half. The lone goal came in the 41st minute as Robbie Pino bounced a pass from Alex Lee off his shoulder and onto the top of his foot. The shot bent over the goalkeeper to the back left corner of the net for the goal.
The second half was similar, but Kalamazoo put a little more pressure on Chicago offensively, especially late. Many opportunities were made, but none could be cashed in for the equalizer. The top-five ranked Maroons could escape Kalamazoo with a 1-0 victory.
In net, Gavin Houtkooper (0-1) only had two opportunities to make a save, converting once. Both teams had six shots and one save a piece, for the game, with Chicago collecting more corner kicks (2-0) and Kalamazoo being called for more fouls (15-12).
Kalamazoo will have its first road test of the 2022 season on Saturday (Sept. 3) by traveling to Naperville, Ill., to face off with North Central at 2 p.m.