On a cloudy and cold Saturday afternoon at Scotland Yard, the Alma College men's soccer team hosted Calvin College in a league match that was important to the Scots' playoff hopes. The Knights however, seemed comfortable with the elevated spotlight and methodically defeated Alma 4-0.

With the loss, the Scots are now 5-7-1 in the MIAA and 9-7-1 overall. The defeat also puts Alma one point behind Albion College ( and tied with Kalamazoo College) for the final MIAA playoff spot with one regular season match remaining. First place Calvin improved to 11-2 in the league and 12-5 in 2013.

"We started out well today and we tripled our shot output from the first time we played Calvin this season," said Scots Head Coach Josh Oakley. "I thought some individuals really stepped up their game. Moving toward Tuesday we are looking at every player to be special.

"The entire season has now been condensed into one 90 minute or more soccer match. Alma men's soccer is once again relevant and I am extremely proud of that fact. We will approach this game with everything we have as we attempt to make history and play on this season."

The only goal of the first half was scored by Calvin's Zach Willis who made it 1-0 just 8:54 into the contest. In the frame, the Knights had 14 total shots to Alma's eight, including an 8-4 advantage in shots on goal.

The Knights made it 2-0 at the 50:19 mark and took a commanding 3-0 advantage at 71:37, basically ending the hopes of the home team. The Knights' leading scorer, Travis Vegter, notched his 25th goal of the season as Calvin made it 4-0 at 81:41.

For the game, the Knights finished with an advantage in total shots (28-19) and in shots on goal (16-7), while each team had eight corner kicks.

Jr. GK Brett Galloway (Clinton Township/Chippewa Valley) was solid in net for the Scots in the loss and finished the afternoon with 12 saves against a formidable Calvin squad. Offensively, So. Matt Sovis (Williamston/Williamston) led the Scots with four total shots (two shots on goal), while So. M John Ulrich (Mokena, Ill./Lincoln-Way East) added two shots on net as well for Alma.

Alma wraps up the regular season with a huge matchup against Hope College on Tuesday afternoon at Scotland Yard. Please note that the match begins at 3:00 p.m., one hour earlier than normal weekday games.