CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 4, 2009
Men's Soccer Pulls Out Win at Trine to Help Create Saturday Showdown for MIAA Title With Hope;
Women's Cross Country Team Ranked Number-One - Men's Team Moves Up To 15th
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 3, Trine 2
ANGOLA, IN -- An MIAA title and an automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament will be on the line Saturday afternoon when Calvin and Hope meet in men's soccer at Eagle Stadium on the campus of Grand Rapids Christian High School. A 3-2 Calvin victory over Trine and a Hope tie at Olivet on Wednesday turned Saturday's Calvin-Hope contest into a title tilt. With its win at Trine and Hope's 0-0 tie at Olivet, Calvin (9-3-1 MIAA) picked up two points on Hope in the league standings and also moved to within two points of the Flying Dutchmen (9-1-3 MIAA). Hope has 30 points in league play while Calvin has 28 points. A victory by Calvin would give Calvin the outright title. A tie or a Hope victory would give the Flying Dutchmen the outright title. The winner of the MIAA will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament. Hope is currently ranked fifth in the most recent set of Central Region rankings, released this afternoon while Calvin is ranked sixth.
Saturday's game between Calvin and Hope has been moved to Grand Rapids Christian High School because of poor field conditions at Calvin's Zuidema Field.
In its win over Trine on Wednesday, Calvin needed a come-from-behind effort to secure the win. The Knights (14-4-1) overall struck first, scoring in the 15th minute of play as junior Lucas Wilgenberg (Visalia, CA) redirected a corner kick from senior Alex McKenzie (Lindenhurst, IL) into the net for his second goal of the season.
Trine (7-11-1 overall, 4-8-1 MIAA) roared back with two goals just four-and-a-half minutes apart in the second half to take a 2-1 lead. Jordan Diemer put the Thunder on the board with a goal in the 55th minute and Foster Webb then connected off a corner kick in the 60th minute of play. Josh Rivera was credited with the assist on both scoring plays.
Calvin rebounded quickly however as freshman Joe Broekhuizen (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) scored his fourth goal of the season, blasting in a pass from teammate Nick Holtrop (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) just 1:12 after Trine's second tally, tying the game at two.
Calvin continued to pressure and finally broke through again with exactly seven minutes left in regulation as freshman Chris Nance (Washington, MI/Warren DeLaSalle HS) sent a cross into the six-yard box that was headed straight down by junior Dan Kmetz (Strongsville, OH). The header by Kmetz bounced off the ground and hopped off the head of Trine's onrushing goalkeeper Nick Thon and into the net to give the Knights a 3-2 lead that they would hold onto.
Thon was stout against the Knights, recording 10 saves as Calvin was credited with 30 shots at goal. Trine had four shots at goal with sophomore goalkeeper Jared Rushlau (Grandville/Grandville HS) picking up one save.
MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 11-4-09
Hope 9-1-3 (30 points)
Calvin 9-3-1 (28 points)
Kalamazoo 7-5-1 (22 points)
Olivet 6-4-3 (21 points)
Albion 6-6-1 (19 points)
Trine 4-8-1 (13 points)
Adrian 3-7-3 (12 points)
Alma 1-11-1 (4 points)
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
For the sixth consecutive week, the Calvin women's cross country team is ranked number-one in the Division III Top 35 rankings compiled by the United States Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association. The Knights received a first place total of 279 points in this week's poll, 10 points ahead of second-ranked Johns Hopkins (MD). Wisconsin-Eau Claire is ranked third and MIT ranked fourth. On the men's side, Calvin has moved up one spot in this week's poll as the Knights are ranked 15th, sharing the spot with Haverford (PA). North Central (IL) remains the top-ranked team in the men's poll, garnering 280 points in this week's poll, 10 points ahead of second-ranked Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
Both Calvin cross country teams captured MIAA title this past Saturday at the MIAA Championships as both teams recorded perfect scores of 15 points, marking the first time in MIAA history that men's and women's teams from the same school achieved the feat in the same year.
Both teams return to action on November 14 when they compete at the Great Lakes Regionals hosted by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana.
Division III Top 35 Rankings: http://www.ustfccca.org/rankings/division-iii-rankings
Received on Wed Nov 4 18:17:38 2009
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