LISLE, Ill.– The Kalamazoo College men's soccer team came back for a 3-2 victory at Benedictine University (IL) Tuesday to open the 2026 season.
Benedictine scored the first two goals of the game in the 12th and 26th minutes, but the Hornets came storming back.
In the 39th minute, Joey Basil launched a throw in into the goal box, where Zach Holden delivered a strong header into the back of the net to make it 2-1. Then, in the final 10 seconds of the first half, Kalamazoo again scored on a throw in as Ben Battreal set up Michael Chance's first collegiate goal to tie the game.
Both defenses held tight in the second half until the Hornets struck again in the 85th minute. Ryan Pietsch headed the ball across the goal box to Holden, who just got enough on the shot to beat the Eagles' goalkeeper and put Kalamazoo on top.
The Hornets outshot Benedictine, 16-12 overall and 9-5 in shots on goal. The Eagles had seven corner kicks to five for Kalamazoo.
Darius Wright III took over in goal at halftime and delivered 45 scoreless minutes with three saves to earn the win.
Kalamazoo men's soccer now heads to Swarthmore, Pa. for two games over the weekend. On Friday, the Hornets take on Rutgers-Newark at 7 p.m. before playing the host Swarthmore College on Sunday at noon.
