On a very brisk and damp Thursday evening, the Alma College Women's Soccer team hit the road to take on Kalamazoo College in the MIAA Semi-Finals. The Scots entered the match attempting to do something that is very difficult to accomplish in sports - beat the same team three times in one season.

Especially one as good as the Hornets. In a battle of the number two and three seeds in the league tournament, Kalamazoo avoided a three-game season sweep and defeated the Scots by a score of 5-1. With the loss, Alma ended their season with an overall record of 11-8-1, while Kzoo improved to 14-5-1 and advanced to Saturday's MIAA Championship.

The two teams were cautious for the first 20 minutes or so of the match as Alma had the only two shots on goal but no real solid scoring opportunities. At 23:34, Kalamazoo's Katie Sorensen attempted a corner that Suzanne Miller was able to get a leg on and somehow maneuver a bouncing ball past Alma Fr. GK Rachael Fokken (Pinckney/Pinckney) and into the net.

Kalamazoo then increased their lead to 2-0 when Jenna Sexton stole the ball from a Scots midfielder and got a shot off from about 30 yards. The ball skipped on the ground and eluded Fokken to her lower left side and the Hornets had a two-goal advantage at the 39:14 mark.

In the first half, each team had three shots on goal, while Kzoo had the advantage in total shots by a nine to three margin. The Hornets finished the first frame with four corner kicks to the Scots' two.

Alma had no room for error in the second half, but unfortunately that is not what happened and the Hornets took advantage. Goals 1:30 and a little over 5:00 into the frame quickly doubled the lead of the home team and the Scots found themselves down 4-0, essentially ending any hopes of a comeback.

The first goal of the second half came from Miller who headed the ball in off of another corner kick, this time after it had been bounced back out away from the net. Then, at 50:18, Madison Moote flew down the right side and kept the ball low and to the ground. The tally, from about 25 yards out, once again eluded a diving Fokken and was assisted by Maria Rich.

The onslaught continued in the 77th minute, as a failed clearing attempt gave the ball to Sexton, who drilled the it past Fokken from just inside the box to give Kzoo a five-goal advantage.

Alma avoided the shutout when Jr. F Kelly Wilson (Midland/Dow) got her foot on a loose ball off a free kick from Sr. D Samantha Waldrop (Ann Arbor/Pioneer) and booted it home past Kalamazoo GK Lucy Mailing at the 85:20 mark of the match.

That would be the end of the scoring however, as the Hornets closed out the time and advanced to the MIAA Championship.

Fokken faced 21 total Kalamazoo shots, including 13 on goal as she took the loss in net for Alma. The Scots ended up with seven total shots and six on goal, while corner kicks favored Kzoo by a nine to three margin.

Wilson and So. MF Lindsey Lloyd (Whitmore Lake/Dexter) paced the Scots with two shots on goal a piece, while So. M Macayla Greiner (Hart/Hart) and Jr. MF Allysen Neumann (Greenville/Greenville) each had one.

Despite the disappointing end to the season, Alma's seven seniors - F Mackenzie Smith (Saginaw/Nouvel), M/F Kailey Vlug (Coopersville/Coopersville), M Ashley Lewandowski (Bloomington, IN/Bloomington South), Waldrop, M Quinn Huver (Alto/Caledonia), MF Sydney Jones (Port Huron/Port Huron) and F Ashley Oltman (Wheaton, IL/Wheaton North) - can hold their heads high as they depart the program.

The seven student athletes were vital cogs in a program that made the MIAA playoffs all four years they were at the school and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 2011. The Scots have not had such an illustrious class in program history and the entire athletic family says thank you and best wishes for their future endeavors!