CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR OCTOBER 21, 2009
Men's Soccer Remains on Top Of MIAA Standings With 4-1 Win Over Adrian
Women's Cross Country Team Remains Ranked Number-One/Men's Cross Country Remains Ranked 16th
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 4, Adrian 1
The nationally-ranked Calvin men's soccer team remains on top of the MIAA standings after a 4-1 victory over Adrian Wednesday afternoon at Calvin's Zuidema Field. Ranked 18th nationally by D3soccer.com and 21st by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Top 25 poll, Calvin is now 12-2-1 overall and 7-1-1 in the MIAA, two points ahead of Hope which picked up a 1-0 victory over Trine on Wednesday to move to 6-1-2 in league play.
In the first meeting between Calvin and Adrian, Adrian battled the Knights to a scoreless draw. On Wednesday, the visiting Bulldogs (5-7-3 overall. 2-4-3 MIAA) had the Knights back on their heels early, scoring a goal off a corner kick just 4:24 into the match on a strike by Justin McCurbin.
Calvin pushed hard for the equalizer throughout the remainder of the first half and came close on several opportunities including a shot by senior Alex McKenzie (Lindenhurst, IL) that beat Adrian goalkeeper Alex Pavlika but was cleared out by a defender on the goalline but not before skimming off the post on the clearance.
Calvin wasted little time in the second half in denting the back of the net however as junior Lucas Wilgenburg (Visalia, CA) picked up his first goal of the year, heading in a long throw-in from freshman Nick Holtrop (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) 1:18 into the second half. The goal by Wilgenberg opened up the scoring spicket for the Knights as junior Brad Heethuis (Jenison/Unity Christian HS) blasted in a ball in the goalmouth in the 61st minute of play after junior Kurt Van Sickel (Pittsburgh, PA) delivered a cross into the box that was then tipped to the feet of Heethuis on a touch by McKenzie.
Calvin then put the game out of reach with a pair of goals just 12 seconds apart in the 72nd minute of play with senior Michael Holwerda (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) ripping in a full volley for his third goal of the year and moments later, junior Scott Hooker (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) whipping in a shot off a rebound off the post taken by freshman Chris Nance (Washington/Warren DeLaSalle HS).
Calvin finished the game with a 33-5 shots at goal advantage with sophomore Jared Rushlau (Grandville/Grandville HS) and freshman Michael Dolan (Casco, MI/Marine City HS) splitting time in nets with Rushlau playing the first half and Dolan the second half.
Despite suffering the loss in goal, Pavlika had a strong performance for the Bulldogs, collecting nine saves including six in the first half.
Wednesday's game kicked off a three-game homestand for the Knights as they will host Olivet on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. and Albion on October 27 at 4:00 p.m.
MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-21-09 GAMES
Calvin 7-1-1 (22 points)
Hope 6-1-2 (20 points)
Albion 5-4-0 (15 points)
Olivet 4-3-2 (14 points)
Kalamazoo 4-4-1 (13 points)
Trine 3-4-1 (10 points)
Adrian 2-4-3 (9 points)
Alma 0-9-0 (0 points)
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The Calvin women's cross country team remains the top-ranked team in the latest set of Division III Top 35 National Rankings released by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association. The Knights picked up 278 points in the latest poll with Johns Hopkins second with 274 points. The Calvin men's cross country team also remains ranked 16th in the men's poll with North Central (IL) continuing to hold the top spot.
Both Calvin cross country teams are preparing for the MIAA Championships which are scheduled to take place on October 31 at Adrian.
USTFCCAA Top 35 Rankings: http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-iii-rankings
Received on Wed Oct 21 19:25:05 2009
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