September 10, 2001
Matt Thelen Named MIAA Defensive Player of the Week
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Calvin College senior Matt Thelen has been named MIAA
Defensive Player of the Week in men's soccer, marking the second time that he
has earned MIAA Player of the Week accolades.
A goaltender, Thelen hails from Grand Haven and is a graduate of Grand Haven
High School. A four-year starter in nets, Thelen helped lead Calvin to a 4-0
shutout victory over Trinity Christian College last Tuesday and then backstopped
the Knights in 1-1 ties against Ohio Northern and Wheaton of Illinois last
weekend.
Against Trinity Christian Tuesday, Thelen combined on the shutout victory with
junior Justin Bouw and collected two saves in 74 minutes of action. On Friday,
Thelen went the distance in a 1-1 overtime tie against Ohio Northern, collecting
five saves including a pair of leaping stabs in the second half. Thelen was
even more spectacular on Saturday against nationally-ranked Wheaton as he
collected 10 saves including several clutch stops in the closing minutes of
regulation that helped preserve the tie against the 21st-ranked Thunder.
Thelen has started in all five of Calvin's games this year and produced a
goals-against-average of 1.44 along with 21 saves. A year ago, Thelen was named
to the All-MIAA 2nd team after earning honorable mention recognition as a
sophomore.
Thelen is an engineering major at Calvin and carries a 3.20 grade point average.
He plans to join the U.S. Navy after graduating from Calvin to pursue an
engineering career.
Calvin (1-2-2 on the season) returns to play on Tuesday when it travels to
Spring Arbor for a 4:00 pm contest.
-end-
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