CSR (Men's Soccer Blanks Adrian 2-0 in MIAA Opener/XC Teams Continue To Hold National Rankings)

CALVIN SPORTS REPORT FOR SEPT. 22, 2010
 
Men's Soccer Blanks Adrian 2-0;
Cross Country Teams Continue to Hold Spots in National Rankings
 
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Adrian 0

(written by sports information student assistant Derek Neice)
As conference play gets underway, the top-ranked Knights of Calvin got down to
business Wednesday afternoon as they defeated the Bulldogs of Adrian by a score
of 2-0. Calvin completely had the bulk of the offensive firepower throughout
the game, amassing a 28-5 shot advantage, with 10 of those shots being on net.
Goals for Calvin were scored by sophomore Joe Broekhuizen (Grand Rapids, MI)
and junior Tyler Vegter (Hudsonville, MI) as the Knights rolled to their
seventh straight victory of the season and first win in MIAA play.
“The scoreboard reflected what we did here today,” Calvin Coach Chris Hughes
commented afterward. “We won and that’s our job, to be up by a goal at the end
and we were up by two so we did our job.”
“You want to come out and start off strong and find that win somehow,” Hughes
said. “I think the kids were up to it today, focused on getting that first win
and starting it off right.”
The game opened up with the right kind of intensity for the Knights as they
immediately began pressuring the Adrian defense, creating a number of
opportunities that could have easily been converted into goals. The Bulldogs
managed to hold things scoreless though as time wound down in the half until
Broekhuizen broke things loose with a rocket of a goal in the 42nd minute.
Sophomore Trevor Bushhouse (Wheaton, IL) made a nice run down the heart of the
attacking third for the Knights and then fed Broekhuizen in the box, who turned
and ripped a shot past the Adrian keeper Alex Pavlika (Temperance, MI) and into
the back of the net. The goal was Broekhuizen’s fourth of the season.
Calvin nearly doubled its lead just after when senior Dan Kmetz (Strongsville,
OH) rifled one of his seven shots of the game at what looked to be an open net,
but a fantastic save made by Pavlika saw the half end with just the lone goal
lead.
In the second half, it was not long before Calvin struck again as the Knights
continued to pressure Adrian on its half of the field. This time, junior
winger Chris Nance (Washington, MI) took a drop pass and hooked a beauty of a
cross into the box where Vegter leaped up and redirected it soundly into the
right corner for the second goal of the match and his first of the year.
Calvin would continue to pressure in the remaining minutes, but done so with
more care as the Knights looked to preserve the lead thereafter.
“The guys took care of business on the offensive end and the defensive end,”
he continued. “I thought there was good possession and that there were good
opportunities, and credit to Adrian’s defense, they’re a young team and they’re
going to be good down the road.”
“I’m happy with all of their efforts,” Hughes continued saying, “and again I
think we sub quite deep and I think that’s going to be a strength of our
program.”
The win improved the Knights to 7-0 overall and 1-0 in MIAA regular season
play, and the shutout would be their sixth out of the seven games thus far, a
stretch that has seen Calvin outscore its opponents 17-2.
With the game behind them now, the Knights will look ahead to the weekend when
they will travel to Holland to take on the Hope Flying Dutchmen in a rivalry
contest that never seems to disappoint.
“We prepare for them [Hope] as we do with everybody else,” Hughes concluded
about the upcoming match. “We have to make sure what we’re doing is done right
and that we’re disciplined and things will then work in a positive direction.”
That game is set to kick off at 7:00 p.m. this Saturday evening.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The Calvin men's and women's cross country teams continue to hold spots in the
latest set of Division III National Rankings released by the United States
Track and Field Cross Country Coaches Association.
The Calvin men are ranked seventh in this week's national poll, up one spot
from a week ago. The Calvin women are ranked 13th, up two spots from a week
ago. North Central (IL) is the top-ranked men's team while Wisconsin-Eau Claire
is the top-ranked women's team.
In addition, the Calvin men are the top-ranked team in the Great Lakes
Regional poll. The Calvin women are ranked second in the Great Lakes (women's)
Regional poll. Hope is the top ranked team in the region and ranked 10th
nationally.
Calvin will face Hope as well as the rest of the MIAA teams this Saturday when
Olivet hosts the MIAA Jamboree at the Olivet Golf Club.
USTFCCCA NATIONAL RANKINGS:
http://www.ustfccca.org/featured/north-central-ill-men-moves-no-1-spot-in-d-iii-cross-country-poll

 
Received on Wed Sep 22 22:54:07 2010