ADRIAN, Mich. – The Adrian College men's soccer team is headed to the MIAA Tournament after earning the No. 5 seed in the conference standings.
The Bulldogs will travel to Kalamazoo College for a 3 p.m. first-round match on Saturday. Adrian completed the regular season with a 6-7-3 overall record and a 2-3-2 mark in MIAA play.
Adrian remained competitive throughout a challenging conference schedule. The Bulldogs battled nationally ranked Calvin University in a narrow 1-0 loss before earning consecutive draws against Hope College and Alma College. The result against Hope marked Adrian's first point against the Flying Dutchmen during the Charlie Miles era.
The Bulldogs earned their first conference victory with a 2-1 road win at Trine University. Jaren Taylor opened the scoring off an assist from Andy Ignatovich before Doudou Sambe scored the game-winning goal with help from Ryan Goeke.
Adrian secured its postseason berth with a 1-0 victory at The University of Olivet. Freshman Nikolai Zacharko scored the deciding goal as the Bulldogs recorded their fourth shutout of the season.
Jack Pelton has led Adrian's attack with eight goals, one assist and 17 points. Pelton has recorded two game-winning goals and leads the team with 27 shots and 14 shots on goal.
Nick Miller has added two goals and one assist, while Zacharko has scored twice with both goals serving as game-winners. Andy Ignatovich and Kyle Peterson have each recorded one goal and two assists. Freshman defender Alex Russell is tied with Ignatovich and Peterson for the team lead with two assists.
Carter Kerbawy has provided another consistent attacking option with one goal, one assist and 22 shots. Kerbawy scored Adrian's goal during its regular-season meeting with Kalamazoo off an assist from Russell.
The Bulldogs continued competing despite being reduced to nine players during that matchup. Adrian responded by outscoring Kalamazoo in the second half, showing the determination it will look to carry into Saturday's rematch.
Defensively, Travis Zeleji has started all 16 matches and leads Adrian's outfield players with 1,424 minutes played. Russell, Goeke, Sambe, Taylor, Charlie Uveges, Cash Williams and Ryan Kientz have also contributed important minutes to a defensive group that allowed only seven goals during conference play.
Eli Sizemore has played every minute in goal for the Bulldogs. Sizemore enters the postseason with 109 saves, an .826 save percentage and four shutouts. He was especially strong in MIAA play, recording a 1.00 goals-against average and an .844 save percentage across seven conference matches.
Adrian enters the tournament with experience in close matches and confidence from its playoff-clinching road victory. The Bulldogs will now look to carry that momentum into Saturday's rematch at Kalamazoo, with the winner advancing to the MIAA Tournament Semifinals.
