CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 13, 2004
MEN'S SOCCER
A "golden goal" off the foot of junior Scott Hill allowed the Knights of
Wartburg (IA) to pull off a second round 1-0 upset victory over the Knights of
Calvin College Saturday afternoon at Calvin Field.
Wartburg (19-1-2) advances to a sectional semifinal where it will face either
Wilmington (OH) or Wheaton (IL).
Hill's game-winning tally came with just 8:40 left in the second overtime
session as he beat Calvin goalkeeper Joe Westra with a low hard shot just
inside the near post. Hill's shot from the left wing was set up by a
well-placed chip pass from sophomore Brent Schuchman, allowing Wartburg to
strike off the quick counterattack.
"It was a perfect pass and Hill made a great diagonal run to set up the
shot," said Wartburg coach Jim Conlon. "We were prepared for a battle
against a Calvin team that we have the utmost respect for and we're just
thrilled to sneak out of here with a victory."
Calvin (18-2-1) outshot Wartburg 14-11 and held the majority of the quality
scoring chances in Saturday's match but Wartburg goalkeeper Collin Lane was
superb with five saves as he kept his team in the game.
"Collin was outstanding," said Conlon. "Calvin had a chance to put us
away in the first half but once Collin starting making saves, the momentum
started to build and turn our way."
Calvin outshot Wartburg 13-8 in regulation time but Wartburg held a 3-1 edge
in overtime.
Calvin nearly scored in the opening five minutes on a one-timer by junior Matt
Cosnek but Lane was able to punch the ball away.
Calvin nearly scored again in the 33rd minute on a free kick by senior Joel
Veldhouse that curled around a wall of Warburg defenders and clanged off the
far goalpost.
A few minutes earlier, Veldhouse had a 20-yard rip that just sailed over the
Wartburg crossbar.
In the second half, Cosnek came close again, this time on a header in the box
but Lane was able to reach back and make a somersault save. Lane came up with
one more clutch save with 18 minutes left in regulation, deflecting a 20-yard
bullet by Calvin junior Maurice Wright just over the cross bar.
In extra time, Wartburg began to pressure and came close twice in the first
overtime session before finally breaking through on the game-winner by Hill.
The goal was the first against sixth-ranked Calvin since a 1-0 loss to Hope on
October 12, a span of more than 750 minutes.
Calvin entered Saturday's match with the nation's third-best scoring
defense while Wartburg came in with the nation's second-best scoring
offense.
Wartburg also had the nation's 12th-best scoring defense and the defense of
the visiting Knights proved to be the key.
"It's a difficult way to end the season," said Calvin men's soccer
coach Chris Hughes. "We had several quality scoring chances but we couldn't
put one in the back of the net and Wartburg did. Wartburg's goalkeeper played
a big role in keeping us off the scoreboard. He was very good this
afternoon."
Calvin is now 3-5 in NCAA III Tournament play with the Knights of Calvin
making five appearances in the national tournament.
In finishing with 18 victories, Calvin notched the second highest
single-season victory total in school history.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
ALMA - The Calvin men's cross country team advanced to the NCAA III
Championships for the 17th straight year but not without a wakeup call first.
The defending national champion and top-ranked Knights captured their eighth
consecutive Great Lakes Regional title on Saturday with a score of 33 points at
Alma College but the Knights were forced to dig down to do so.
A bottle neck start in the opening half-mile scrambled Calvin's runners
initially and the Knights were unable to fully piece their full pack together
the rest of the way.
Calvin still managed to take five of the top 11 spots but the performance was
a far different than its 2003 regional meet when the Knights swept the top five
spots, en route to a perfect score of 15 points.
"This was definitely a wakeup call and I think it comes at the perfect
time," said Calvin men's cross country coach Brian Diemer. "It was a
reminder to our team that nothing will be given to us next week no matter where
we are ranked or what we have done in the past."
Leading the way for Calvin was senior Hendrik Kok (Lynden, WA) who took fourth
with a time of 24:27. He was followed by senior Jeff Engbers (Whitinsville,
MA) in fifth (24:38); sophomore Tim Finnegan (Rehoboth, NM) in sixth (24:41);
junior Andy Yazzie (Rehoboth, NM) in seventh (24:52) and sophomore Bill
Reynolds (Newtown Square, PA) in 11th (24:59).
Rounding out Calvin's finishers were senior David Haagsma (South Christian
HS) in 15th (25:09) and sophomore Ben Hammer (Williamsburg) in 18th (25:12).
"There's no question that this was not our best race of the year but the
good news is that we still won and we're still headed to the national
meet," said Calvin cross country coach Al Hoekstra who shares the coaching
duties with Diemer. "We need to regroup and refocus and I think we will."
All seven Calvin runners earned spots on the Great Lakes All-Region team.
DePauw also qualified as a team with a second place score of 97 points.
Mike Sawicki of Otterbein took first place honors with a time of 24:08.
In the women's race, Calvin took 15th with a team score of 385 points.
Calvin's top finisher was junior Linday Kroonenberg (Denver, CO) with a time
23:04. She was followed by sophomore Lydia Singer (Wilmington, DE) in 53rd
(23:17). Other Calvin finishers included sophomore Melissa VandenBerg (Grand
Rapids Christian HS) in 89th (24:03); freshman Jenny Zylstra (Lombard, IL) in
96th (24:15); sophomore Bethany Hofman (Holland Christian HS) in 103rd (24:24);
sophomore Laura Holtrop (Derwood, MD) in 124th (24:52) and freshman Christina
Overbeck (Seattle, WA) in 136th (25:08).
The NCAA III Cross Country Championships will be hosted by the University of
Wisconsin-Eau Claire.
The Calvin men's cross country team will be making its 20th overall
appearance at the NCAA III Championships next Saturday. The men's race is
scheduled to begin at noon (EST).
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Nov 13 20:43:19 2004
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