CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2009
Women’s Soccer Opens MIAA With Convincing Victory
Volleyball Sweeps Olivet;
Women’s Cross Country Again Ranked Number-One/Men Ranked Seventh
WOMEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 3, Albion 0
(written by Andrew Knot)
In its MIAA debut, the Calvin College Women’s Soccer team made a statement
with a dominating 3-0 victory over Albion.
After dropping their previous three matches in disappointing fashion, the
Knights did just what they hadn’t in those three losses: scored. Despite
outshooting opponents 37-27 in that span, the Knights lost those three matches
by a collective 5-0 score.
All of that changed against Albion on a crisp, sunny fall day at Calvin’s
Zuidema Field. The Knights had a monopoly on possession, holding the ball on
the Britons half of the field virtually the entire game. Calvin even kept
Albion out of the shot column of the stat book during the first half, and held
the Brits to just one shot the entire game.
“The shut-out says a lot about our defense. We thrive on keeping opponents
out of the net,” said Head Coach Mark Recker.
In addition to a stifling defense, the Knights meticulously picked apart the
Albion defense, scoring a goal in the sixth minute that set the tone for the
rest of the match. Freshman Liz Cancel received a pass from fellow freshman
Francesca Smith and put a shot on goal from 18 yards out. The shot got away
from Albion goalie Caitlin Bowman to put the Knights on the board early.
That goal was the first of Cancel’s collegiate career, but she wasn’t
finished. Early in the second half Cancel got around her defender at the edge
of the six-yard box and put the inside of her left foot on the attacking end of
a Carly Prins cross. The volley into the upper third of the net doubled
Calvin’s advantage, and gave Cancel her second goal of the game.
Calvin continued to flood the Albion goalmouth with opportunities. The
Knights outshot the Britons 24-1 and amassed a 13-0 advantage in corner kicks,
finally capitalizing on one in the 86th minute, when Emily Ottenhoff cleaned up
a post-corner kick scrum and found nylon from six yards out.
Those three goals were more than enough for the Calvin defense, who kept
Albion out of the Knight’s half of the field for much of the game.
Coach Recker concluded his thoughts on the game saying, “We protected our
turf today.”
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Olivet 0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-17)
OLIVET - Calvin got back on the winning track with a 25-17, 25-16, 25-17
victory at Olivet Wednesday afternoon to improve to 11-4 overall and 6-1 in the
MIAA.
Ranked 11th in the most recent AVCA Division III Top 25 poll, Calvin hit .290
as a team in the win led by sophomore Rebecca Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago
Christian HS) who tallied 16 kills and a .314 attack percentage. Freshman
Lizzie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian HS) also had a big night with 12
kills and a .417 attack percentage.
Sophomore Erin Vander Plas (Cadillac/McBain Christian HS) chipped in with six
kills. Senior setter Nora Bruskewitz (Milwaukee, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran HS) had
39 assists while sophomore Kelly Peterson (Ramsey, MN/Anoka HS) had 13 digs and
senior libero Kelsey Sears (Traverse City/Traverse City West HS) 10 digs.
Calvin is back in action next Tuesday when it travels to Saint Mary’s for a
7:00 p.m. conference match.
MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 9-30-09
Hope 7-0
Calvin 6-1
Alma 5-3
Albion 4-3
Trine 3-4
Saint Mary’s 3-4
Kalamazoo 2-5
Olivet 1-6
Adrian 1-6
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S CROSS COUNTRY
For the second time this year, the Calvin women’s cross country team finds
itself holding a share of the top spot in the Division III Top 35 poll
conducted by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches
Association.
Calvin shares the top spot this week with John Hopkins (MD) which makes it
initial entry at the top spot. Previous number-one and defending national
champion Middlebury (VT) has dropped down to eighth. Washington University of
St. Louis is ranked third.
On the men’s side, Calvin remains ranked seventh while North Central (IL) is
again the top-ranked team in Division III.
The most recent Division III Top 35 rankings can be found on-line at:
http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-iii-rankings
Both Calvin cross country teams return to action this Friday, competing at the
Notre Dame Invitational.
Received on Wed Sep 30 23:13:22 2009
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