Men's soccer team advances to MIAA Tournament championship game with 2-1 win over Hope

OLIVET, Mich. – Olivet College sophomore Jon Puente (Kalamazoo/Galesburg Augusta) scored twice to lead the Comets to a 2-1 win over Hope College today in the semifinals of the 2012 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet. Olivet advances to play at top seed Calvin College in the championship game Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. The Knights defeated Kalamazoo College, 1-0, in today's second semifinal contest.

Tarwo Knobloa scored the Flying Dutchmen's goal only one minute, 13 seconds into the game off a set piece. After Olivet was whistled for a foul, the ball was served in where Grant Neil deflected the ball with the back of his foot to a wide-open Knobloa who finished with a shot to the near post.

The score stayed that way until there was two minutes, 10 seconds left in the first half. Sophomore Camden Iwasko (Livonia/Stevenson) flicked the ball to Puente, who sent a chip over the Hope keeper and into the middle of the goal. The score stayed knotted at 1-1 after the first 45 minutes of play.

The teams battled for the first 20 minutes of the second, with both having some good chances to score the go-ahead goal. The Comets finally broke through in the 66th minute of the game. Freshman Michael Moscone (Washington/Warren De La Salle) slipped the ball to sophomore Billyle Alman (Lansing/Okemos), who got the ball into the air. A charging Puente ran onto the ball and headed it into the net.

The Comets finished the game with just one more shot than the Dutchmen, 15-14. But Hope had one more shot on-goal, 8-7. Sophomore Esteban Russell (DeWitt) led the way for Olivet with four shots. Three other players each had two shots. Sophomore Alex Lang (West Bloomfield/Detroit Catholic Central) was brilliant in goal, as he made seven saves, including several stops on breakaway attempts.

In only its second year of existence, the Comets advance to the MIAA Tournament championship game for the second straight year. A year ago, Olivet beat Calvin, 1-0, in the semifinals before losing to Hope in the championship game.