CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 27, 2009
Men's Soccer Upset By Albion - Falls Out of First Place in MIAA Standings;
Calvin Athletes Receive MIAA Player of the Week Honors;
MEN'S SOCCER
(Written by Calvin Sports Information Student Assistant Derek Neice)
As the season winds down, the must-win games decide who will continue on into
postseason play. This is now the case for Calvin’s men’s soccer team after
suffering a tough home loss to the Britons of Albion College Tuesday afternoon,
a 3-2 slugfest that saw the Knights lose despite outshooting Albion 25-4.
The Knights also fell out of first place in the MIAA standings as Hope
defeated Alma 2-1, moving one point ahead of Calvin.
Coach Hughes summarized what has been the basic story of this dynamic Knights
offense all season. “There were some real good opportunities in front of the
net that we have got to capitalize on.”
“We scored two,” Hughes continued, “but that was not enough.”
Albion scored the first goal of the game with twenty minutes left in the first
half. Midfielder Jon Cannell (Vicksburg, MI) beat a couple of Calvin defenders
in the box and whipped a shot past freshman keeper Michael Dolan (Casco, MI).
The Britons managed to increase their lead to 2-0 four minutes into the second
half after a counterattack breakaway resulted in Cannell’s second goal of the
game, a header off of a cross by teammate Dimitrios Tomares (Ioannina,
Greece).
But the Knights refused to fold after falling behind by two goal, starting
with a picture-perfect free kick by junior Dan Kmetz (Strongsville, OH). Kmetz
launched the ball over the wall and into the goal, just under the crossbar and
just over the hand of the outstretched Albion keeper.
Calvin was now only down by one with 35 minutes left in the game.
What transpired after the goal by Kmetz would determine the outcome of the
game. Albion snuck a quick breakaway right after the kickoff, only about 30
seconds after Kmetz’s free kick, and put in their third goal of the game,
injuring keeper Dolan in the process.
Just five minutes after this, Calvin’s Lucas Wilgenberg (Visalia, CA)
launched home a goal with thirty minutes to play after a nice turn to create
space for an assist by freshman midfielder Nick Holtrop (Hudsonville, MI).
At 3-2, the Knights were still very much in the game, and despite four or five
great chances on goal in the draining minutes of the game, Calvin could not
equalize, going on to lose only their second conference game this season.
Coach Hughes talked after the game about what the future holds for his team.
“We need to win out,” Hughes stated. “We need to win the MIAA at this
point, that’s how we’ll get to the national tournament.”
“And maybe this is that spark that we need,” Hughes concluded, “to win
out the rest of
Calvin falls to 8-2-1 in the conference on the year. Their next match-up will
an away match against Kalamazoo College on October 31st.
MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-27-09
Hope 8-1-2 (26 points)
Calvin 8-2-1 (25 points)
Albion 6-5-0 (18 points
Olivet 5-4-2 (17 points)
Kalamazoo 5-5-1 (16 points)
Trine 4-6-1 (13 points)
Adrian 3-5-3 (12 points)
Alma 0-11-0 (0 points)
MORE MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin College senior Greg Snapper has been named the MIAA's co-Defensive
Player of the Week in men's soccer. Snapper shares the award this week with
Justin Bailey of Hope.
Snapper, a senior from Madison, Wis. (Madison West HS), anchored the
Knights’ defense from his centerback position as Calvin defeated Olivet,
2-0, and Adrian, 4-1. Snapper is being honored as Player of the Week for the
second time this season and the fifthtime in his career.
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin College libero Kelsey Sears has been named the MIAA's Specialty Player
of the Week in volleyball.
Sears, a senior from Traverse City (Traverse City West HS), had 63 digs for
the week, including 30 in a five-set win over Alma, as the Knights won three
MIAA matches to stay within striking distance of first-place Hope. She also had
five service aces, three of them in a sweep of Adrian.
Sears is being honored as Specialty Player of the Week for the first time this
season and the third time in her career.
Received on Tue Oct 27 20:18:20 2009
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