The Alma College Men's Soccer team welcomed Kalamazoo College to Scotland Yard on Wednesday afternoon for a key MIAA matchup. In a showdown between two of the best defensive teams in the conference, the Scots fell at home 1-0 to the visiting Hornets.

With the loss, Alma drops to 3-4-2 overall with a 2-3 record in league play. Kalamazoo improves to 4-4-2 this season and 2-2-1 in the MIAA with the victory on Wednesday.

The vibe at Scotland Yard on Wednesday was tense and it was apparent this match would be a hard fought engagement right from the beginning.

The Hornets got on the offensive early, recording the first two shots on the match. The Scots nearly got on the board first at 5:05 when Jr. M Chad Buitenhuis (Grand Haven/Grand Haven) connected on a shot off a ricochet, but his attempt would be stopped by the Kalamazoo goalie and the score remained 0-0.

The Scots next opportunity came at 11:02 when Jr. F Spencer Sandow (Midland/Midland) ripped through the defense for a shot, but it too would be hauled in by the Hornet goalie.

Neither team would be able to mount much offense for the remainder of the half and after the first 45 minutes the scoreboard showed 0-0.

The visitors came out on the offensive in the second half, launching three-straight shots before finding the back of the net at 55:26 to take the 1-0 lead.

Following the goal, Jr. M Matt Sovis (Williamston/Willamston) would be the only Alma player to record a shot on goal, and the Scots would ultimately fall by a goal.

So. M Austin Gabris (Spring Lake/Spring Lake) and Jr. F Zach Vandeveer (Elk Rapids/Elk Rapids) each had three shots for the Scots, who recorded 14 as a team.

In goal, So. Nick Strait (Jenison/Jenison) allowed one goal on five shots on goal to drop to 3-2 with the loss.

Alma stays home on Saturday, October 4, to welcome Hope College to Scotland Yard for a match set to start at 2:30 p.m.