Grand Rapids, MI — After leading his team to a share of the 2005 Mid-Central Conference Tournament, Goshen head men’s soccer coach Tavi Mounsithiraj vowed to make the pre-conference portion of his 2006 schedule a true test for his team.

After three matches complete, its safe to say the mission has been accomplished.

Less than 24 hours after suffering a 2-0 defeat at the hands of a physical NCAA Div. II Tiffin University squad, the Leafs hopped on a three-hour bus ride to face NCAA Div. III Calvin College in the opening round of Calvin’s Cal Bergsma Memorial Tournament. A late addition to the schedule, the Bergsma Tournament allowed Mounsithiraj’s team to face N.S.C.A.A. pre-season 16th-ranked Calvin on Saturday and 25th-ranked Hope College on Monday.

After another shut-out loss Saturday — Calvin defeated the Leafs by a 1-0 score — its also safe to say Mounsithiraj had probably planned on his squad putting a ball in the back of an opponent’s net by now.

“Just a month ago some team pulled out of the Cal Bergsma Memorial Tournament that was co-hosted by Calvin College and Hope College,” Mounsithiraj said. “The Calvin coach called me and asked if I was interested in bringing our team up. I agreed to do it with little hesitation. Both Calvin and Hope went to the NCAA Division III National Tournament last season and this would be a good opportunity for us to play very good teams and hopefully prepare us for the MCC play later on this month. I thought we played really well Saturday, but Calvin is such a good team and right now we are having problems creating scoring chances.”

Those problems kept Goshen (0-3, 0-0) scoreless on the season, as a 0-0 tie at halftime Saturday was practically the only stat that appeared even between the squads. Calvin rattled off nine first-half shots to Goshen’s four, while the Knights would take a pair of corner-kick opportunities to none from the Leafs.

Goshen remained buoyant thanks in large part to its stellar defensive unit, as senior Joel Miller anchored the back with classmates Jared Price and Adam Yoder, along with sophomore Rusty Emery, helping senior walk-on Brandon Wengerd tend the goal. Wengerd, who took a back seat to All-MCC senior Craig Welscott in Friday’s 2-0 loss to Tiffin, was back in the lineup Saturday after Welscott was too weak to play due to his recurring stomach ailment (click here for related article).

Wengerd and crew thwarted an onslaught of Calvin attacks, but in the game’s 76th minute the seal was finally broken. After the Knights took possession of the ball just behind the midfield line, a lead pass found Anthony Gratson ahead of the pack. He was able to place a shot to the far post, slipping the ball past Wengerd’s outstretched arms for the match’s only score.

“I was pleased to see Brandon Wengerd step up and do a nice job again for us replacing Craig Welscott,” Mounsithiraj said. “I was also pleased with our overall performance as a team. Hopefully things will start coming together for us soon on the offensive end. We just need to continue to work hard, even though it will not get any easier for us.”

Mounsithiraj’s team receives just a one-day recovery time before concluding the Cal Bergsma Memorial Tournament on Monday afternoon. The team will travel to Hope College to face the Flying Dutchmen at 4 p.m.