October 18, 2008
Women's Cross Country Wins Oshkosh Invite - Men Take Third;
Men's Soccer Extends Win Streak With 2-0 Win at Albion;
Women's Soccer Remains Unbeaten in MIAA After 2-0 Win Over Kalamazoo
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
OSHKOSH, WI -- The top-ranked Calvin women's cross country team lived up to
its billing with a first place finish at the rugged Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks
Invitational on Saturday with a team score of 59 points. Meawhile, the
fifth-ranked Calvin men's team took third with a score of 104 points, finishing
behind second-ranked North Central which won with 68 points and fourth-ranked
Wisconsin-Stevens Point which placed second with 73 points.
In the women's (6K) race, Calvin finished 74 points ahead of runner-up
Wisconsin-Oshkosh by placing five runners in the top 17 led by senior Lauren
Bergstrom (Rochester, MN/Century HS) in eighth place (21:24) and junior Jessica
Koster (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in ninth place (21:44).
Rounding out Calvin's top five were junior Elizabeth Smit (Kirkland,
WA/Bellevue Christian HS) in 12th place (21:49), senior Jesi Hale (Gallup,
NM/Rehoboth HS) in 13th place (21:58) and senior Calah Schlabach (St. Michaels,
AZ/St. Michaels HS) in 17th (22:06). Rounding out Calvin's finishers were
senior Kelly Edwards (Grand Blanc/Grand Blanc HS) in 19th (22:25) and junior
Mary Tolsma () in 31st (22:44).
In the men's (8K race), senior Jed Christiansen (Greenville, PA/Greenville HS)
made a strong run at the top individual spot before settling for second place
with a time of 24:13 with Willy Kaul of Wisconsin-Oshkosh winning in a time of
24:00. Calvin senior Erik VanKampen (Elmhurst, IL/Timothy Christian HS) also
cracked the top 10 with a ninth place time of 24:37.
In addtion, senior Nate DeHaan (Byron Center/South Christian HS) was 27th
(25:07), senior Dan VandenAkker (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) 32nd (25:10),
sophomore Jake Christiansen (New Ipswich NH/Mascenic Regional), 34th (25:11),
junior George Visser (Winfield, IL/West Chicago HS) 45th (25:23) and freshman
Nick Kramer (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) 57th (25:31.
Another group of Calvin runners also competed at the Manchester Invitational
on Saturday with the Calvin women's team finishing second with 61 points while
the Calvin men's team took 6th with 147 points.
The top finisher in the women's (6K) race from Calvin was junior Sarah Dugan
(Freeland/Freeland HS) who took third in a time of 23:22. The top finisher in
the men's (8K) race from Calvin was freshman Dan Carreon (Haddonfield,
NJ/Haddonfield Memorial) in 18th place with a time of 26:58
MEN'S SOCCER
(with reporting by Brad Draayer)
ALBION -- The Calvin men's soccer team stretched its win streak to nine games
and remained on top of the MIAA standings with a 2-0 victory at Albion Saturday
afternoon. The Knights are now 11-3-0 overall and 8-0 in the MIAA, three points
ahead of second place Hope (7-1-0 MIAA).
Junior Alex McKenzie (Lindenhurst, IL/Antioch HS) scored a pair of second half
goals to lead the Knights to bring his season goal total to five. McKenzie put
Calvin on the board seven minutes into the second half, banging in a
give-and-go pass from senior teammate Dan VanSlyke (Grove City, PA/Grove City
HS).
McKenzie then scored the clinching goal on a set-up pass by freshman Miles
Colago (Anoka, MN/Anoka HS) in the 66th minute of play to give the Knights a
2-0 lead.
Albion continued to threaten in the final 20 minutes of play but the Calvin
defense held firm to record its seventh shutout victory of the year.
Senior goalkeeper Darrin Cline (Grandville/Grandville HS) was credited with
the shutout victory.
Albion held a 14-9 shots at goal advantage but Cline was able to come up with
four saves.
"I thought our defensive backfield of Lucas Wilgenburg (Visalia, CA/Central
Valley Christian HS), Chad Hart (Byron Center/South Christian HS), Greg Snapper
(Madison, WI/Madison West HS) and Kyle Billin (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS)
was outstanding today," said Calvin men's soccer coach Chris Hughes. "And I
thought Darrin Cline was oustanding in directing traffic from the goal. Albion
has a very physical team up front but I thought our defense was up to the
challenge today."
Hughes also praised the teamwork of the Knights on McKenzie's two goals. "Both
of the goals were great set-up plays," said Hughes. "McKenzie did an excellent
job of finishing and his teammates put him a position to do so."
Calvin returns to action next Wednesday when it hosts Alma at 3:30 p.m. at
Calvin's Zuidema Field.
MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-18-08
Calvin 8-0-0
Hope 7-1-0
Albion 4-4-0
Olivet 4-4-0
Trine 4-4-0
Adrian 2-6-0
Kalamazoo 2-6-0
Alma 1-7-0
WOMEN'S SOCCER
(by Chaz Amidon)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Emily Ottenhoff notched her team-leading 11th goal of
the season and Allison Boender scored her first as the Knights extended their
league unbeaten streak to 31 games with a 2-0 win over Kalamazoo.
Calvin overwhelmingly out-shot the Hornets, 29-1, on Senior Day at Zuidema
Field, where the Knights used a pair of first-half scores to stay undefeated
and remain atop the MIAA with a 6-0 record.
“The finishes that we had were great finishes,” said Calvin coach Mark
Recker. “I think we had a large number of opportunities where we didn’t
finish…I keep telling my players that (scoring) is the key ingredient in
performance.”
The Knights’ offense, termed “volatile” by Recker, was catalyzed by
Ottenhoff’s strike in the 20th minute - a one-timer from Elizabeth Ribbens
that Ottenhoff sent skipping past Hornet goalkeeper Taylor Comiskey.
Boender, who was pushed up into Calvin’s midfield, struck just seven
minutes later with a left-foot chip that sailed over Comiskey’s head and into
the back of the net.
But Kalamazoo’s defense clamped down in the second half, deterring the
Knights from adding to their lead in the final 45 minutes of play.
“It leaves the game a little tighter when you don’t put the ball in the
net,” said Recker. “It comes down to a game where you execute well or
not.”
Calvin’s prolific defense was flawless once again, as the Hornets failed to
uncork a shot on net.
The win marked the Knights’ 13th consecutive shutout over an MIAA opponent
during the regular season, dating back to the 2007 season when Calvin defeated
Tri-State (now known as Trine) on Sept. 22, 13-1.
“Defense really involves a whole team effort,” said Recker. “Our kind of
a team defensive structure allows the defense to play aggressive when they have
that chance to step up, and that’s involves everyone being on the same
page.”
At halftime, Calvin’s five seniors - Ribbens, Bolen, Michelle Koehle,
Julianna Lits and Liz Van Rees - were honored in their second-to-last regular
season home game.
“These particular five are a special five,” said Recker. “They’ve
represented excellence for the women’s soccer program and have continued on
for all four years. It’s a testament to the level of their athletic
ability.”
The Knights will now host Albion on Tuesday, Oct. 21, before traveling to
Trine to conclude their MIAA schedule at Trine next Saturday.
NOTES: Calvin’s defensive scoreless streak in league play now spans more
than 700 minutes…Ribbens’ assist to Ottenhoff was her team-leading ninth of
the season…Ribbens is currently Calvin’s 10th all-time leading scorer,
amassing 99 points during her four-year career.
MIAA WOMEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-18-08
Calvin 6-0-0
Hope 5-2-0
Adrian 4-2-1
Alma 4-1-0
Albion 3-2-0
Olivet 2-4-0
Saint Mary's 1-4-0
Kalamazoo 0-4-1
Trine 0-6-0
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Sat Oct 18 23:00:28 2008
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