On Thursday, the Hawks Men’s Soccer team travelled to East Grand Rapids for a non-conference rivalry game with the Pioneers.  Entering the game, the all-time series stood at 2-2-2, with five of the six games ending with a one goal or less margin of victory.

The Hawks played a solid possession game and created numerous early scoring chances, but were held off the board.  Despite the majority of the play being in the EGR defensive third, it was the Pioneers who struck first in the 19^th minute for a 1-0 lead.

Alex Harrison equalized for the Hawks just 4:30 later as he pressured the EGR defender in possession of the ball, made the tackle, and walked in on the Pioneer goalkeeper for a finish.  It was a superb individual effort.

The Pioneers played a physical brand of ball while the Hawks possessed and played a finesse style.  The remaining 67 minutes, typical of the rivalry, was a stalemate.  The match ended in a 1-1 draw and puts the Hawks at 1-1-1 on the season. 

In the matinee game, the JV Hawks lost by a score of 3-0 in a game that was closer than the score indicated.  The Hawks’ Jake Austin, Jake Stevens, and Robbie Heyboer each struck shots that missed by inches.

VARSITY STATS:  Shots At Goal---FHE 19, EGR 10.  Corner Kicks---FHE 5, EGR 2.  Fouls---EGR 18, FHE 6.  Offside---EGR 1, FHE 0.