CSR (Calvin Women's Soccer Team Headed to Rochester, NY for NCAA III Sectionals)

Calvin Sports Report for November 13, 2006

CALVIN WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAM HEADED TO U. OF ROCHESTER FOR ROUND OF 16 TEAM SECTIONAL TOURNAMENT

The Calvin women’s soccer team will hit the road to compete in a four-team NCAA III Tournament sectional tournament scheduled to be hosted by the University of Rochester (N.Y.) Friday and Saturday.

The host Yellow Jackets (16-1-3) will take on defending national champion Messiah (17-2-0) in the first sectional semifinal game on Friday at 11:00 a.m. A member of the University Athletic Association, Rochester advanced to the sectional round of play with a 1-0 second round NCAA III Tournament victory over Oneonta State (NY) this past weekend. Messiah advanced to sectional play with a 2-1 overtime victory in the second round against Ithaca College on Saturday.

Calvin (21-1-0) will then face Denison (15-4-2) in Friday’s second sectional semifinal game at 1:30 p.m. Calvin advanced to sectional round play with a 1-0 victory over Kenyon in the second round on Saturday while Denison advanced to the sectionals by winning a penalty kick shootout with Wittenberg in a second round game Sunday night. The Denison-Wittenberg game ended in a 0-0 tie. Denison won the penalty kick shootout against Wittenberg 3-2.

Friday’s sectional semifinal round winner will then meet in the national quarterfinals on Saturday at 1:00 p.m. All games will be played at Rochester’s Fauver Stadium.

Calvin and Denison will be meeting for the third time in NCAA III Tournament play in women’s soccer and for the first time on a neutral field. Calvin defeated Denison 2-0 in a 1997 NCAA III Tournament second round game played at Calvin with Denison defeating Calvin 1-0 the following year in a first round NCAA III Tournament game played at Denison.

Calvin is 4-3 all-time against Denison but Denison has won the last three meetings including a 4-2 decision in 2003.

Calvin is making its fourth trip to the NCAA III Tournament and is 2-2-1 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play. Denison is making its 10th trip to the NCAA III Tournament and is 7-9-2 all-time in NCAA III Tournament play. A year ago, Denison reached the national quarterfinals before bowing to the College of New Jersey 2-1. Calvin is making its second trip to the Round of 16 in the NCAA III Tournament. In 1997, Calvin defeated Denison in the second round 2-0 and then fell to Washington University 3-2 in a Round of 16 game.

Calvin is led on offense by senior strikers Jill Capel and Sarah Weesies who were both selected to the All-MIAA first team for a fourth consecutive year last week. A two-time MIAA MVP, Capel has 14 goals, 11 assists and a team-leading 39 points on the year. Weeises is next on the Calvin scoring list with 12 goals, 11 assists and 35 points. Weesies scored the only goal of the game in Calvin’s 1-0 win over Kenyon on Saturday. Calvin’s defensive backfield has been paced by seniors Tricia DeVries, Laura Rooks and sophomores Juliana Litts and Ashley Bolen. Calvin’s two primary goalkeepers have been freshmen Alyssa Bergsma and Kayla Sulzer. As a team, Calvin has allowed just five goals this year and has a team goals-against-average of 0.24 that ranks fifth nationally. Calvin has also posted 16 shutout victories this fall.

Denison is led on offense by senior midfielder Tammy Hoch who has 11 goals and 1 assist for a team-leading 23 points. As a freshman in 2003, Hoch scored the game-winning goal in Denison’s 4-2 victory over Calvin. Denison’s midfield attack is also centered around senior Anne Young who was a first-team Great Lakes All-Region selection in 2005. Young has four goals, one assist and nine points on the year. On defense, the Big Red of Denison look for leadership from junior goalkeeper Liz Gillette and junior Kim Cochran. Gillette was named a third team All-American in 2005 and has 2006 season goals-against-average of 0.48 that includes 10 shutouts. In Sunday night’s penalty kick shootout with Wittenberg, Gillette made two successive saves to help seal the win for the Big Red. Cochran has also displayed an offensive flair for Denison, scoring three goals and collecting six assists for 12 points.

Calvin is led by head coach Mark Recker who is in his sixth year at the helm of the Knights. Recently named MIAA Coach of the Year for the second straight fall, Recker has produced a won-loss record of 92-24-7 for a winning percentage of .767. Calvin’s current total of 21 victories is also a new Calvin single-season record.

Denison is led by 10th-year head coach Gail Murphy who is 148-40-13 for a winning percentage of .757. She is currently ranked 24th in Division III among the winningest coaches of all-time.

Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Mon Nov 13 16:26:27 2006