By Sports Information Student Zach Bigger
ANGOLA, Ind. -- In a game in which was incredibly tense following a 8-2 loss to Albion in their last matchup, Albion (7-9, 4-6 MIAA) captialized on two scoring chances from Bobby Budlong and send the Thunder to their 10th loss in their last 11 games. Trine (3-11, 1-10 MIAA) was outshot 17 to 9 in the contest, with only one of the nine on net. Thunder goalkeeper Chris Stewart (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester) made eight saves and had a good day at the office, smothering several chances by the Britons that could have put the game way out of reach.
The first half saw the Thunder defense block a shot that would eventually rebound near the front of the net before Trine goalkeeper Chris Stewart made a big time save from point blank range and kept Albion off the board. Eventually, the Thunder defense broke down and Bobby Budlong took a shot from about 10 yards away on the right side of the field, connecting to the lower left hand side of the goal where the save was unable to be made in time.
Albion would pick up another goal thanks to Budlong's talents when he did the exact opposite on his second goal of the day, taking a long lead pass from a teammate and setting up a shot from the left hand side to the lower right side of the goal. The Britons stormed away from the first half with a 2-0 advantage.
Trine struggled to create any high probability scoring chances simply because they struggled to move the ball and could not get deep in enemy territory without turning the ball over. The shots they did take were primarily from 10+ yards out and well guarded by Albion, who managed to hang on to their 2-0 lead and walk away with a hard earned conference victory.
The Thunder's next game on the road against Adrian College on Tuesday at 7:00 p.m.