By Scott DeWeerd, '15

ALBION, Mich. - The Albion College women's soccer team dropped to 5-3 on the season Saturday afternoon after a 1-0 loss to Calvin College. Trailing by one goal with 2:37 remaining in the game, a lightning delay allowed both teams to rest for a half-hour before giving the fans who chose to stay an exciting finale featuring multiple scoring opportunities. The Britons, however, could not capitalize. 

Cameron Schmidt had an exceptional performance for Albion, recording nine saves including a handful of diving stops and conceding just one goal.

"She played really well," Head Coach Eric Scott said about the sophomore goalie. "She came up with a lot of big saves, but we just weren't able to create any offense." 

The Knights, who made a brief run in the NCAA Division III Women's Soccer Tournament before bowing out to the nation's top-ranked team in 2013, presented a high-pressured defense built to force mental mistakes. But the Britons were prepared for it and responded with matched intensity. 

"You have to give credit to Calvin," said Scott. "They have a great tradition and they always have some tough teams. They won the effort battle today, especially in the second half."

The energy Calvin brought seemed to overwhelm the young Briton team as the game went on. Seven of the Knights' 10 shots on goal came in the final 15 minutes of the game. 

"We didn't finish, and they did," Scott said. "We have 19 underclassmen and we still have a lot of maturing to do. We need to work on our consistency. We need to give a 90 minute effort rather than playing in spurts." 

Sam Larocca, Amanda Allen, and Jenna Urso all put shots on goal for the Britons. 

The Albion women return to the field Wednesday as they travel to Indiana to play St. Mary's College. The game is scheduled for4 o'clock.