EDWARDSBURG — There was a little bit of luck involved in Jared Kalka’s two-goal, one assist performance Wednesday in Edwardsburg’s 7-0 win over Brandywine in opening round round Lakeland Conference boys soccer tournament action.
The Eddies gained some breathing room at 2-0 after Kalka scored off a cross from the right corner with 10:33 left in the first half.
“I was trying to set up (Josh) Clark,” said Kalka. “But (the shot) went in. I got lucky I guess.”
Edwardsburg coach Ryan Rosenkranz was happy to see that second goal after his team was turned away on several shots over a 21-minute span.
“Anytime you can get a multi-goal lead it helps relieve a little bit of the pressure because in the game of soccer if you’re only up one, mistakes can happen and a game can end up being tied. It gives an opponent a reason to fight.”
Edwardsburg took a 1-0 lead when Evan VanBelle scored just inside the goalie box with 31:44 left in the first half.
The Eddies third goal in the first half came from Clark from five yards on an assist from Kalka with 9:34 left in the first half.
Edwardsburg, which beat Brandywine, 6-0, during the regular season, had all 21 shots on goal in the first half.
“For the most part, it’s been a frustrating year on offense for us,” said Brandywine coach Evan Winkler.
The Bobcats finally got their first shot on goal with 33:50 left in the match. The kick came from Alex Moreno from 25 yards. Edwardsburg goalie Patrick Harvey stopped the shot.
Unfortunately, for Brandywine, Edwardsburg had scored more two goals to extend its lead to 5-0 before Moreno’s shot.
Kalka scored on a cross from VanBelle with 38:47 left in the match and VanBelle scored off of Max Habicht corner kick with 34:47 remaining in the match.
“We had a bad stretch where (Edwardsburg) shot four times and they scored four times,” Winkler said. “You can’t have those. We had them 1-0 until 10 minutes to go in the first half. Then they scored and it really changed things. We hoped to keep the score low and try to get overtime and a shootout. But it didn’t work.”
Edwardsburg got a goal from Josh Wyman 7:10 left in the match and a score from Clark on the goal box line with :08 remaining.
The Eddies finished with a 33-4 edge on shots on goal.
“We’re getting better offensively,” Rosenkranz said. “We really struggled at the beginning of the year offensively. We lost to some really good, quality teams. Hopefully, that will get us prepared for districts. Hopefully, getting the goals tonight will give the guys a little bit more confidence. We’re getting scoring from all around, not just one or two guys and that’s nice to have as a coach.”
Brandywine goalie Alexander Walters finished with eight saves.
“I thought he played good at times,” Winkler said about his keeper. “There’s just some inconsistencies in our play that I’d like to see us get rid of.”

EDWARDSBURG 7, BRANDYWINE 0
At Edwardsburg
Halftime score: Edwardsburg 3, Brandywine 0.
FIRST HALF
E—Evan VanBelle 31:44.
E—Jared Kalka 10:33.
E—Josh Clark 9:34.
SECOND HALF
E—Kalka (VanBelle) 38:47.
E—VanBelle (Max Habicht) 34:47.
E—Josh Wyman 7:10.
E—Clark :08.
Shots on goal: Edwardsburg 33, Brandywine 4.
Goalie saves: Patrick Harvey (E) 1, Ryan Mahaney (E) 0, Alexander Walters (B) 8.
Corner kicks: Edwardsburg 12, Brandywine 4.
Records: Brandywine 3-12-2.