OLIVET, Mich. - The Kalamazoo College men's soccer team traveled to Olivet to play its MIAA opener on Tuesday (Oct. 3). After scoring the first goal, the Hornets allowed two Comet goals in the second half but were able to tie the game up in the 78th minute to force the 2-2 tie.
Kalamazoo shook up the starting lineup by adding Luke Bormann and Henry Plumstead to Gavin Houtkooper, Colin Halloran, Aidan Gillig, Michele Alia, Paul Kearis, Emilio Romo, Chad Ewing, Jeremiah Heath, and Antoine Kondracki.
The Hornets came out on the offensive attack in the first half, taking 11 shots compared to Olivet's two in the first 35 minutes. The last shot gave Kalamazoo a 1-0 lead as Romo slipped a pass over to Gillig, who deposited his team-leading fifth goal in the back of the net. The rest of the first half was primarily played in the midfield as the Hornets remained up 1-0 at halftime.
Kalamazoo continued to pepper the goal with shots early in the second half, but Olivet scored two goals in the 61st and 64th minutes to take a 2-1 lead. Then, in the 78th minute, the Hornets forced a penalty on the Comets in the box and were rewarded with a penalty kick. Plumstead stepped up and buried his third goal of the season to score the eventual game-tying goal.
Houtkooper finished with four saves on six attempts. The Hornets had more shots (25-8) and corner kicks (8-3), while the Comets finished with more saves (8-4) and fouls (14-11).
Kalamazoo will continue MIAA play with a home game against Trine for homecoming weekend on Saturday (Oct. 7), beginning at 5 p.m.