CSR (Calvin Saturday Sports Report for October 10, 2009)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 10, 2009

Men's Soccer Shuts Out Trine - Showdown With Hope Next;
Women's Soccer Remains Unbeaten in League Play With Win Over Kalamazoo;
Volleyball Drops Kalamazoo in Three - Remains in Second Place in MIAA
Standings;
Women's Golf Fifth at MIAA Tournament and Fifth in Final MIAA Standings

MEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Trine 0
(written by Calvin sports information student assistant Derek Neice)

Slated with the second game of a soccer double-header, the men again came out
strong on what could be called a cold and blustery Saturday afternoon,
defeating the Trine Thunder by a score of 2-0.

After a somewhat frustrating win against Kalamazoo this past Wednesday, a game
in which the Knights were struggling to finish for goals, Saturday’s contest
looked early on to be of the same nature. The Knights out-shot the Thunder
29-4 with a 12-1 shots-on-goal differential. In the first half, no goals were
scored.

After the game, Calvin head coach Chris Hughes responded similarly to what he
said Wednesday about the Knights’ lack of finishing ability.

“Just like last time, we need to be ahead by a goal, so when we go ahead by
two we’re happy with that. The guys played well, they anticipated the game,
and our team defense was very strong.”

“Our depth really helped today as it has all year, so it’s definitely a
good win for the group and a good win on our homecoming weekend.”

The scoring for the Knights happened entirely in the second half with both
goals coming from the foot of senior forward Alex McKenzie (Lindenhurst, IL).
Just over five minutes into the second half, Calvin’s offense put together a
beautiful string of passes starting with a run by forward Scott Hooker
(Hudsonville, MI).

Hooker played the ball in the middle to senior midfielder Michael Holwerda
(Grand Rapids, MI) who then placed a pass down the left flank to a wide open
Brad Heethuis (Jenison, MI). Heethuis quickly looped in a groundball-cross
along the face of the goal and McKenzie promptly smashed it home, giving Calvin
the lead.

McKenzie’s second goal came with just seven minutes left in the half,
putting the game out of reach for Trine. Junior back Lucas Wilgenberg placed a
nice pass into the middle of the box to McKenzie, who turned and knocked a shot
into the corner of the net. With the win, Calvin moved to 5-0-1 in the MIAA
with a 10-1-1 overall record.

“This is Alex’s best year,” said Hughes of McKenzie, “and I think this
position is built for him. He anticipates a game well, he’s big, he’s
fast, he’s strong he’s got a great shot, and he’s a threat. This year
he’s taking advantage of it. The last couple years we’ve had some injuries
with him, and he’s been healthy all year long, so we’re very happy with
what he’s doing.”

Hughes continued, “And again, it all comes down to those ten guys behind him
helping him get to that level. This is a team effort so I’m proud of the
guys behind him as well.”

Looking forward, the biggest game of the season thus far will take place at
rival Hope College on Tuesday. Coach Hughes looks to this game no differently
than any other.

“We prepare as we will every game, we’re going to enjoy this, and we’ll
get to that game in a little while.”

MIAA MEN’S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-10-09

Calvin 5-0-1
Hope 5-0-1
Albion 3-3-0
Adrian 2-2-2
Olivet 2-2-1
Trine 2-3-1
Kalamazoo 2-4-0
Alma 0-6-0

WOMEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Kalamazoo 1
(by Calvin sports information student assistant Andrew Knot)

The Knights continued their undefeated conference mark in a clash with MIAA
opponent Kalamazoo College on Saturday.

Struggling to get on the board early in previous games, Calvin had no such
problems against Kalamazoo. The Knights drew first blood in the sixth minute,
with junior Elaine Schnabel redirecting a ball from junior Carly Prins into the
back of the net. The goal came after a barrage of chances and shots on net for
the Knights, off of an opportunity created by some teamwork and hustle from
freshman Liz Cancel and Senior Natalie Veurink on the right wing.

But the Knights weren’t done with the early scoring. Just two minutes
later, freshman Francesca Smith settled a loose ball, took a touch, and buried
a shot from just inside the eighteen. The goal was the first of the year for
Smith.

“It was exciting to score. We came out really strong,” said Smith of her
team’s play early in the game.

The Knights continued to dominate the first 20 minutes of the game, piercing
the Kalamazoo defense with precise, penetrating passes. Coach Mark Recker
agreed with Smith, saying that the team came out in system which gave Calvin an
advantage in the middle of the field. This opened up the field, giving Calvin
a distinct advantage in possession early.

But the Hornets of Kalamazoo responded in the 26th minute, capitalizing on one
of their few chances in the first half. Jackie Short scored her fifth goal of
the year, getting past senior goalie Kayla Sulzer and cutting the Calvin lead
in half, to 2-1.

That goal marked the first goal the Knights have conceded to an MIAA opponent
in over a year.

From that point on, the Knights had a little more difficulty creating chances
for themselves in the second half.

“The goals came so easy that we let down and got content,” said Coach
Recker. “We need to come out more intense. Every game requires your best
and you have to finish the opportunities you have,” he continued.

Despite taking a step back in the second half, the Knights maintained their
2-1 lead, and concluded another MIAA victory, bringing their conference record
to an impressive 4-0, and their overall record to 10-3.

MIAA WOMEN’S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-10-09

Calvin 4-0-0
Adrian 3-1-0
Alma 2-1-1
Kalamazoo 2-1-1
Albion 1-1-1
Hope 1-1-1
Saint Mary’s 1-3-0
Olivet 0-3-0
Trine 0-3-0

VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Kalamazoo 0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-22)
(written by Calvin sports information student assistant Mitch Blankespoor)

The 11th ranked Calvin volleyball team was up for the challenge of the
Kalamazoo Hornets Saturday at Van Noord Arena in front of a Calvin Homecoming
crowd. The Knights defeated the Hornets in three sets by a score of 25-14,
25-17, 25-22.

Calvin did this with a balanced offensive attack. Sophomore Rebecca Kamp led
the Knights with 14 kills and sophomore Erin VanderPlas added 12 kills.
Sophomore Renee DeHaan and freshman Lizzie Kamp each totaled 6 kills.
Kalamazoo College was led by Colleen Leonard with 9 kills and Johanna Kupe with
7 kills. Each team had a good percentage as Calvin hit .326 and Kalamazoo hit
.278. Calvin had a better service day, beating Kalamazoo with 6 service aces
to 3. Each team had 6 service errors. Calvin’s senior setter Nora
Bruskewitz had 37 assists. Kalamazoo used 2 setters. Allison Liddane had 16
assists and Courtney Nartker had 9 assists. Calvin had 7 total team blocks
while Kalamazoo had just 4.

Calvin won the first two sets rather easily. Libero Kelsey Sears had a great
serving day. In each of the three sets, whenever Sears served, Calvin went on
a run. Another key player was Lizzie Kamp. A freshmen from Orland Park,
Illinois, and the younger sister of Rebecca Kamp, Lizzie came up big in the
third set. With Calvin and Kalamazoo tied at 20 in third set, (Lizzie) Kamp
had back-to-back kills which fired up the Knights, who went on to win the set
25-22.

When asked about the game, Coach Amber Warners replied, “We played very well
together today. There were times during the match when we weren’t giving it
our best. We have to want it every set. We can’t be satisfied with sliding
though them.”

This victory puts Calvin at 14-4 overall and 9-1 in league play, one win
behind Hope. Next weekend, Calvin heads to Chicago to play in a four-match
tournament. The Knights will face some tough competition; most notably host
Elmhurst, nearby North Central and Loras (IA) and Widener (PA).

MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 10-10-09

Hope 9-0
Calvin 9-1
Alma 6-4
Saint Mary’s 5-5
Albion 4-5
Trine 4-5
Kalamazoo 3-6
Adrian 2-8
Olivet 1-9

WOMEN’S GOLF

BATTLE CREEK – The Calvin women’s golf team concluded a solid 2009 MIAA
fall campaign with a fifth place finish at the MIAA Tournament on Saturday,
held at the Bedford Valley Golf Club. The tournament was originally scheduled
for 36 holes but the 18 holes scheduled for Friday were wiped out because of
rain, condensing the tournament into a one-day 18-hole event.

Calvin posted a fifth place team score of 386 strokes on Saturday to finish
fifth in the final overall team standings, an improvement of four places from
2008 when the Knights placed ninth.

Calvin also finished the year with a season team scoring average of 373.4 in
league play which ranks as the second best MIAA team average in school history,
surpassed only by the 371.8 average set by Calvin’s 2004 team. The score is
an improvement of more than 38 strokes from 2008 when the Knights finished with
an average of 411.7.

Calvin was led on Saturday by seniors Kelli Visser (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids
Christian HS) and Emily Tuuk (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) with
rounds of 93, good for a tie for 21st place individually.

Senior Julienne Louters (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) followed with
a 96 while freshman Elise Doezema (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) had
a 104 and senior Rachel Strikwerda (Holland/Holland Christian HS) a 105.

Tuuk finished the year with a season scoring average of 89.8
strokes-per-round, matching the fourth-best single-season average in Calvin
women’s golf history.

Visser finished with a season average of 92.6 which ranks as the 12th-best in
Calvin women’s golf history.

MIAA TOURNAMENT TEAM SCORES (10-10-09)

Saint Mary’s 329
Olivet 342
Hope 344
Trine 368
Calvin 386
Alma 390
Adrian 396
Kalamazoo 400
Albion 402

FINAL MIAA WOMEN’S GOLF STANDINGS

Saint Mary’s 1620
Olivet 1650
Hope 1699
Trine 1812
Calvin 1867
Albion 1905
Alma 1943
Kalamazoo 1946
Adrian 2010
Received on Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:46:29 -0400