By Corey Wheeler, '18
Albion College's home opener was spoiled by a 1-0 loss to Calvin College. With the loss, Albion drops to 4-2 overall and 2-1 against Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association rivals.
"Calvin is a very good team and we knew that going in," Albion Head Coach Eric Scott said. "We did a decent job of weathering the storm but we have to get a little better a building the game out of the back."
With four minutes left in the game Albion goalkeeper Maggie Troost, who earlier in the day was announced as the MIAA's Defensive Player of the Week for her effort in two shutouts over league rivals last week, made an exceptional save to prevent Calvin from scoring. Carly Veenstra caught Troost off guard with a shot from the top of the box in the 88th minute to lift Calvin to the win. It was Veenstra's fourth goal of the season.
Albion's defense was great but the midfield played without Caroline Eagan and Sam LaRocca for the bulk of the second half. Albion generated two shots on goal while Calvin produced five.
"I think all in all our back line has been great all year, but we didn't give them much help in terms of keeping possession," Scott said. "I don't think they let a lot of people in behind them and Maggie made a great save at the end but we couldn't pull off the second one.
"I think we scrambled a little bit and we didn't link like we did against Alma and it's something we certainly need to address before our next contest," Scott added.
Next up for Albion is a 4 p.m. Thursday contest against a Hope College side that is off to a 3-0 start in the league.
