CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 2, 2011
Men's Soccer Claims Outright MIAA Regular Season Title - Will Host Olivet in
MIAA Tournament Semi Friday;
Men's and Women's Cross Country Remain in Top 10 of National Polls;
Women's Basketball Ranked Fifth in WBCA Division III USA Today/ESPN Coaches
Poll
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 4, Alma 2
By Sports Information Student Assistant Derek Neice
ALMA - Playing in their final regular season match of the year the Knights
went out with a bang at Alma, defeating the host Scots by a score of 4-2. The
win clinches sole possession of the regular season title for Calvin, which
finishes the season with a conference winning record of 11-2-1 (15-4-1
overall).
“We definitely had some bumps and bruises throughout the season but I think
we’ve been pretty consistent,” said Calvin coach Chris Hughes after the
match. “It’s a great way for our seniors to go out with winning an MIAA
championship in each of the past four seasons.”
Needing only a tie to win the league outright, the Knights fell behind early
on in the 15th minute after Matt Kuberski sent an incredibly long free kick
into the Calvin box and past the outstretched hand of Calvin keeper Michael
Dolan.
But, the Knights would not be fazed and they showcased their offense as they
scored four unanswered goals en route to the win. In the 28th minute, just
seconds after subbing into the game on a corner kick, junior Joe Broekhuizen
equalized with a header. Later in the half and with a mere 11 seconds to play
before the break, junior Nick Holtrop put the Knights ahead on a nice strike
after receiving a flicked header pass from Ty Vegter off another corner kick.
In the second half the Knights continued their dominance from the corner kick
set piece as senior Justin Ahearne got in on the action with a thunderous
header in the 54th minute that gave the Knights a 3-1 lead. Calvin’s fourth
goal came soon after in the 61st minute as sophomore Zach Willis finished a
goal off a nice pass from junior Chris Nance, who finished the game with a pair
of assists.
The Scots would add a late goal off a free kick in the 88th minute, but
ultimately it was too little too late.
“There are still things we need to work on moving forward,” Hughes said. “But
what an honor to run the sideline with these guys, I’m really proud of them.”
Having already clinched the top seed in the postseason MIAA tournament, the
Knights will host their semifinal match-up this Friday against fourth-seeded
Olivet The winner of that contest will have a chance to play for the
tournament championship and an automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament. Hope
will host Trine in Friday's other semifinal match.
Friday’s match against Olivet will play at 3 p.m.
FINAL MIAA REGULAR SEASON STANDINGS
Calvin 11-2-1
Hope 10-3-1
Trine 9-4-1
Olivet 9-5-0
Albion 6-8-0
Adrian 3-10-1
Kalamazoo 3-11-0
Alma 2-10-2
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The Calvin men’s and women’s cross country teams have moved up in the national
rankings. On the men’s side, Calvin is ranked fourth - up two spots from a week
ago and matching its highest ranking of the year. On the women’s side, Calvin
is ranked ninth, down one spot from a week ago. North Central continues to be
the top-ranked team in the men’s poll while Williams (Ma.) is the top-ranked
team in the women’s poll. Last weekend, the Calvin men captured the MIAA title
with a first place score of 18 points at the MIAA Championships while the
Calvin women finished second with 46 points. Both teams return to action on
November 12, competing at the Great Lakes Regional meet at Oberlin College
(Oh.).
USTFCCCA DIVISION THREE NATIONAL RANKINGS:
http://www.ustfccca.org/assets/rankings/div3/2011-xc/Div3_XC_2011_Week8_National-Summary.pdf
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Calvin women’s basketball team is ranked fifth in the first USA Today/ESPN
Division III Coaches’ poll of the year conducted by the Women’s Basketball
Coaches Association.
It marks the third national ranking that the Knights have received this year
as they are also ranked eighth by Women’s Division III News and sixth by
d3hoops.com. Calvin returns nine letterwinners and five starters from last
year’s team that finished 25-5 overall and captured a share of the MIAA
title with a 15-1 conference record.
Calvin is scheduled to open its season on November 15 at Manchester College.
WBCA ESPN/USA TODAY DIVISION III COACHES POLL:
http://www.wbca.org/blog/index.cfm/2011/11/1/20112012-PreSeason-DIII-Poll/
Received on Wed Nov 2 22:24:47 2011
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