Zachary Carpenter
10/06/2021
Sports
Fall sports are in full swing for Alma College as well as the rest of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). In the last two weeks, Football, volleyball, mens and womens golf, mens and womens soccer, and mens and womens cross country have all had matches. After starting 4-0, the football team lost its first game to Olivet College on Oct. 2. The homecoming matchup marked the start of conference play for the Scots.
Throughout the game, the Scots racked up impressive defensive stats including forcing seven turnovers and logging 69 tackles. However, despite their best efforts they fell short with a final score of 33-10. The football team now stands at 4-1 with a conference record of 0-1.
Following a win over Finlandia University on Sep. 25, Scots Volleyball tallied a 3-0 loss to Calvin University before heading into a tournament at Elmhurst College (IL). The Scots played Elmhurst University, John Carroll University (OH), and Coe College (IA), tallying 3-0 losses to all three schools. The volleyball team now stands at 1-12 and are 0-3 in conference play.
Women’s Golf placed 6th in the MIAA Jamboree at Thornapple Pointe hosted by Calvin University on Oct. 2. The Scots shot a combined 340 with Evie Garver (‘24) shooting a 78, good enough for 5th place individually. Additionally, Morgan Yates (‘23) shot an 81, putting her at 9th place individually.
Men’s Golf placed 7th during the MIAA Jamboree at Zollner Golf Course hosted by Trine University on Sep. 25. Eli Pinter (‘22) shot a 78, leading the way for the Scots with the team finishing with a total of 337.
“As a team we battled adversity with injury and health complications,” said Pinter. “Overall we fought hard and did not get the results we wanted but hope to finish out the year strong.”
“Individually, I started out the day very strong and was under par for the back nine, but I did not finish the way I would like,” said Pinter. “Overall though, I held my composure and know there is improvement down the road.”
Men’s soccer wrapped up its non-conference play on Saturday, Sep. 25 with a 7-0 loss to Wheaton College (IL). Heading into conference play, the Scots were 2-7.
On Oct. 5 the Scots traveled to Olivet College where they played a neck and neck game with the Comets. The Scots struck early with a goal in the second minute of play. In the twenty-second minute, the Comets returned the favor with a goal of their own tying the game 1-1.
For the duration of the second half, the game remained a draw forcing an overtime. Again during overtime, neither team was able to gain the upper hand forcing a second overtime. The game ended when the Comets scored during the second overtime.
Women’s soccer recently played an MIAA matchup against Calvin University on Oct. 2. The Knights struck first with a goal in the thirty-sixth minute, but the Scots struck back just 15 seconds later with a goal of their own, tying the match at 1-1.
In the end, the Knights proved too much for the Scots, eventually winning the matchup 4-1. The Scots fall to 2-7 on the season and 0-2 in conference play.
Alma’s men’s and women’s cross country team competed in the Lansing Community College Invitational on Oct. 1. The men’s team finished 13th as a team with 281 points while the women’s team finished 15th with 374 points.
Individually, Cornella Gotaas (‘23) posted the best finish for the women with a time of 21:18.4 on the 5k course, good enough for a 48th place finish among all women. For the men Sean Pauley (‘22) had the highest individual finish for the men posting a time of 27:03.1 on the 10k course, putting him in 14th place among all men.
