CSR (Calvin Men's Soccer Players Named to Great Lakes All-Region Teams)

From: Jeff Febus <jfebus@calvin.edu>
Date: Thu Dec 04 2003 - 00:13:45 EST

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2003

MEN'S SOCCER

Three members of the Calvin men's soccer team have received Division III Great
Lakes All-Region honors as selected by the National Soccer Coaches Association
of America.

Senior Joel Veldhouse has been named to the first team with sophomore Kurt
Visker named to the second team and junior Joel Vande Kopple to the third team.

It marks the first time since 1989 that three Calvin men's soccer soccer
players have received all-region honors in the same year.

As a member of the first team, Veldhouse is now eligible for NCAA III
All-America consideration.

A native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota and a graduate of Sioux Fall Christian
High School, Veldhouse is receiving Division III Great Lakes All-Region
accolades for the second time in his career as he was named to the second team
in 2002. Last week, Veldhouse was named a first team CoSIDA Academic
All-America. Earlier in the fall, he was named to the All-MIAA first team for
the second straight year.

A forward and a three-time MIAA Offensive Player of the Week, Veldhouse scored
12 goals and picked up nine assists for a team-leading total of 33 points.
Although a senior academically, Veldhouse carries junior athletic eligibility
and will return to Calvin for his final season of collegiate soccer next fall.

Visker is from Grand Rapids and is a graduate of Grand Rapids Christian High
School. A sweeper-back, Visker anchored a Calvin defensive unit that allowed a
league-best six goals in MIAA play in conference play that included eight
shutout victories. One of those shutout victories was a 1-0 victory over
Kalamazoo College on October 22 with Visker scoring the only goal of the game
on a 35-yard blast on a direct kick with just over 17 minutes remaining in
regulation. The goal snapped a
Calvin scoreless streak of more than 700 minutes against the Hornets and also
helped the Knights defeat Kalamazoo for the first time since 1999. Visker
finished the year with two goals and four points. He was also named MIAA
Defensive Player of the Week once.

Vande Kopple is also from Grand Rapids and is a graduate of Grand Rapids
Christian High School. A midfielder, Vande Kopple was named MIAA Offensive
Player of the Week once during the year as he served a key ball distributor for
the Knights on offense while also providing strong defensive play. Vande Kopple
finished the year with four goals, four assists and 12 points.

Calvin finished the season 15-5-0 overall and gained a share of its first MIAA
championship since 1999 by posting a 10-2-0 league mark. The Knights shared
the final MIAA crown with Hope which finished 9-1-2 in the conference. The
MIAA men's soccer title was the 16th in Calvin history with the Knights
holding more MIAA men's soccer titles than any other league school with
Kalamazoo second with 13 league crowns.

Calvin Men's Soccer All-Region Selections Since 1980

1981, Doug DeSmit
1982, Doug DeSmit
1983, Doug DeSmit
1984, Dave Lindner, Ken Lodewyk
1985, Dave Lindner, Randy DeJong, Bert Bowden
1987, Bert Bowden, Mark Hendriks, Dave Fasold
1989, Joe Barone, David Stokes, Ed Wilgenberg
1991, Joe Barone, Todd Veenhuis
1993, Trevor Schuurman
1994, Kevin Sowles
1996, Steve Wiegers
1998, Mark Lindner, Marcus Byeman
1999, Todd Folkert, Marcus Byeman
2000, Marcus Byeman, Jason DeJonge
2002, Joel Veldhouse
2003, Joel Veldhouse, Kurt Visker, Joel Vande Kopple

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Thu Dec 4 00:16:30 2003

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