Barrien Springs, MI - Grace hit the road to Berrien Springs to play Andrews University on Friday with a game time temperature of nearly 90 degrees. The Tigers having a few players out with injuries would provide opportunities in the team. "We had moved a few guys around as we were dealing with a few unavailable selections for Andrews. Andrews is always a tricky place to play. Minus the start, I felt very good about how all of the boys handled being away in that environment," stated Coach Buchanan. The start for the Tigers was not ideal, as they gave up an early penalty kick which saw the host Cardinals convert and go up 1-0. It would not take long however, for the Tigers to draw level when Ryan Cronkright (Hudsonville HS) finished off a great pass from Paul Ureel. Sophomore Djoekaeff Mitagato Sayumwe (Unity Christian HS/Bethel College) would give Grace the lead shortly after after getting on a ball played in by fellow sophomore Bailey VandenHuevel (Hudsonville HS). The Tigers continued to put on the pressure, finding goals from Senior Isaiah Ford who made a great run with an equally great pass from freshman Logan Beauregard (Plainwell HS). Paul Ureel (Holland Christian) looked to have scored the fourth goal of the contest with some confusion as he played a ball that clearly looked have gone over the line but no call from the official until it was undeniably smashed into the back of the net by Sayumwe, who was credited with his second of the match as Ureel was credited with his second assist of the match. Freshman Austin Engel (Spring Lake HS) would make a blistering burst past a Cardinal defender and slot a ball to fellow freshman and Muskegon native Corbin Russell (Muskegon OV) who smashed it home to make the score 5-1 in favor of the visiting Tigers.  

"I was really proud of the team today as the guys stepped up. I love how this team supports one another and are ready for their moment and work so hard to impact the team. They take the good, bad and everything in between to grow.  Anything negative that happens in this group is made into a positive and that is a specialty group. Today we overcame an early mistake, which happens, and Coach Cronkright suggested a tactical adjustment that worked fantastically. Our entire team response was wonderful. All but one available field player got in the match today, but all team members contributed to getting an away victory," commented Coach Buchanan. 

The Tigers will play again Friday at home versus a tough local opponent in Kuyper College at 4pm.