CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 5, 2008
Men's Soccer Captures Outright MIAA Title - Chris Hughes Picks Up Win #100
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 3, Adrian 0
ADRIAN -- Michael Holwerda and Scott Hooker combined for three goals and two
assists as Calvin knocked off Adrian 3-0 Wednesday night under the lights at
Adrian’s Performance Stadium. The win clinched Calvin’s second straight
outright MIAA championship and was coach Chris Hughes’ 100th victory.
Calvin already secured the automatic NCAA tournament berth with Saturday’s
1-1 tie at Hope. The MIAA championship is Calvin’s 13th outright title; the
Knights have a league high 19 titles. The Knights will receive the MIAA
championship trophy Saturday at Zuidema Field. The Knights are also making
their eighth trip to the NCAA tournament.
“I’m going to focus on the clincher,” said Hughes, who has a 100-32-12
record into his seventh season. “It’s exciting for the guys. They worked
hard the last two practices have been brilliant. I think the kids are starting
to find that zone.”
Holwerda acknowledged Hughes 100th win in just his seventh year.
“That’s an awesome accomplishment, he deserves it,” he said. “He puts
in more time than any other coach. He’s going to do everything he can to push
us in practice and prepare us for games. We appreciate his passion and hard
work.”
Holwerda put Calvin on the board with a volley in the fifth minute. Hooker was
credited with the assist after his cross was deflected off an Adrian defender,
setting up Holwerda. Holwerda rifled a perfectly placed shot into the far
corner of the net.
“This game is an example of what can happen when (Scott and I) play well
with each other,” said Holwerda. “It’s something we’ve been working on
in practice. Monday and Tuesday’s practices went well. Coach always says you
play how you practice and that happened tonight.”
Hooker found Holwerda again in the 19th minute to give Calvin a 2-0 lead.
Hooker’s pass split two defenders and left Holwerda with a tough angle near
the corner of the penalty box. Holwerda again rifled a shot past Adrian goal
keeper Alex Pavlika for his second goal of the game and fifth on the season.
“Scotty and Michael are really starting to take off and that’s a duo
that’s going to be tough to stop,” said Hughes. “They’re in a zone.
Michael is finding the back of the net. He’s such a wonderful player and if
he’s going to peak this is the time of the season he needs to peak. Scotty
has been productive all year long.”
Hooker gave Calvin a 3-0 lead in the 60th minute. Hooker broke away on a pass
from Miles Colago. He dribbled past the first defender. He faked the second
defender inside, and went outside and blasted a shot past Pavlika.
“I was teasing him at halftime that Michael was getting all the glory by
scoring all the goals,” said Hughes. “I think he needed to go get one
himself. He has the talent to do it.” Hooker leads the team with nine goals
and 11 assists for a total of 30 points.
Darrin Cline recorded eight saves and led Calvin to its eight shutout of the
season.
“(The offense) all stems back to a wonderful midline and that backline again
did their job (tonight).”
Calvin, ranked 18th in the latest NSCA top 25 poll, extends its MIAA unbeaten
streak to 26 games. The Knights are 15-3-1 overall and 12-0-1 in the MIAA.
Calvin will close out its regular season when the Knights host Trine Saturday
at Zuidema Field at 2 p.m. Calvin’s five seniors will be honored at
halftime.
Jeff Febus
Sports Information Director
Calvin College
(616) 526-6169 Office
(616) 526-8551 Fax
Received on Wed Nov 5 23:29:04 2008
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Wed Nov 05 2008 - 23:29:04 EST