KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Trine University men's soccer team suffered their first minor blemish of the conference season against Kalamazoo College with the game ending in a 1-1 draw.

The Hornets recorded the first shot of the day when they sent a header high in the eighth minute. The Thunder responded with three straight in the favor. First Ben Borak went wide with a header of his own, followed by Braden Estep missing high on a kick. Borak forced the first save of the day when he put a shot on goal in the 17^th minute.

Despite some back and forth by the teams, neither found the back of the net in the half and the game went to the intermission 0-0. The Thunder took a slight lead in shots into the locker room, leading 5-3, but Kalamazoo was more accurate leading shots on goal 2-1.

In the 15^th minute of the second period, the Hornets had a player receive his second yellow card of the day leaving them shorthanded for the remainder of the match. The Thunder quickly pressed the advantage and continued to do so.

It paid off six minutes later. Estep started the play with a clear from the defensive zone. The ball landed at the feet of a Kalamazoo defender who mishandled it, giving Djimo Kouyate a chance to streak forward and gain possession behind the back line. Kouyate outran the trailing Hornets and fired a shot from a few yards into the penalty area across the length of the net into the left side. The goal put the team up 1-0.

It was a short-lived lead with Kalamazoo stringing together a trio of passes up the near side of the field. The play ended directly in front of the net with their forward deflecting the ball by the keeper for the goal.

Trine handily won the shots battle through the final 20 minutes of the game, but the home defense was up to the task and the 1-1 draw eventually went final.

With the tie the Thunder end the day with a 7-6-1 overall record while sitting at 5-0-1 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). They are now tied with Hope College atop the standings with just one game to play, against the Flying Dutch. The winner of the game would be outright regular season champions of the conference. In case of a draw, the teams would share the title, but the Thunder would take the top seed, and home field advantage, for the upcoming MIAA Tournament based on tiebreakers. Both teams have already secured a berth and bye in the tournament.

The final decisive contest will take place inside of Zollner Stadium on Tuesday, October 29. Kickoff will follow senior day activities and is scheduled for 7 p.m.