ALBION, Mich. -- The Albion College men's soccer continued to flaunt their second-half heroics on Saturday afternoon with a 2-0 victory over The University of Olivet at Alumni Field.

With the victory, the Britons (12-2-1, 5-1-0) tightened their grip on second place in the MIAA heading into the final regular season contest of the season. Olivet moved to 4-12-0 overall and 0-4-2 in conference action as a result. 

Prior to the tilt, Albion honored their lone graduating student-athlete, Tristen Spettel. 

The Britons combined a stifling defense and on-ball dominance to fluster the Comets for 90 minutes. Albion dominated possession to open the contest. Albion's stifling defense allowed just one shot on goal, tying a program record. The last time the Britons allowed just one shot on goal came against Adrian in the 2005 campaign.

As the contest got underway, Olivet sat back as the Brits controlled the middle of the park. The Britons outshot the Comets, 5-3 over the opening 45 minutes. Albion looked to have an opening in the 32nd minute, but a shot from Ivan Murillo sailed just wide as the game remained scoreless heading into the halftime break. 

The Brits maintained their pressure coming out of the half and eventually forced a miscue from the Comets' defense in the 58th minute. A foul inside the 18-yard box sent Esteban Mercado to the penalty spot. 

The sophomore whipped the ball into the lower left corner from the spot to give Albion a 1-0 advantage. It was Mercado's 10th goal of the campaign and fourth from the penalty spot. 

With a one goal advantage, the Britons continued to press as Olivet was reeling. Robin Ruigendijk came dangerously close to doubling Albion's lead in the 66th minute, but his free kick shot was turned away. Under a minute later the speedy freshman rifled a shot that beat the netminder, but rattled the woodwork to stay out of the net. 

Three minutes later, Albion broke through Olivet's defensive setup once again. 

Pablo Caturla Rubio played a leading pass for Xavier Yuille. The junior sped past his defender and collected the ball. Yuille slipped the ball past the goalkeeper for his ninth marker of the season. 

Albion had two more chances from the boot of Spettel, but the Portage, Michigan, native's attempts were turned away as the game finished, 2-0, in favor of the Britons. 

The Brits ended the contest with a 14-5 advantage in shots and a 3-0 edge in corner kicks. In goal, Tom Veresh played the full 90 minutes and turned away the lone shot he faced. 

Up Next
The Britons close out the regular season on the road on Wednesday, October 29, at Kalamazoo College. Kickoff is set for 7 pm.