CALVIN
KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCTOBER 24, 2012
Men’s Soccer and Volleyball Clinch Shares of MIAA Titles and Top Seeds for MIAA
Tournaments
MEN’S SOCCER
Calvin 4, Kalamazoo 0
By Mark DeHaan
The Calvin men’s soccer team captured a share of an unprecedented sixth
consecutive
MIAA title on Wednesday while also clinching the top seed for next week’s MIAA
Tournament. Calvin clinched a share of the league title with a 4-0 win over
Kalamazoo while Adrian gained a 2-1 win over Olivet. With two regular season
games left on the schedule for all eight MIAA teams, Calvin holds a six-point
lead over Olivet. The Knights hold a potential tiebreaker edge over Olivet for
the top seed for the MIAA Tournament by virtue of a regular season sweep over
Hope. The MIAA regular season title is the 23rd for Calvin – more than
any other MIAA school in men’s soccer.
In its victory over Kalamazoo on Wednesday, Calvin celebrated Senior Day in
fine fashion. Honoring seniors Jared Rushlau, Joe Broekhuizen, Nick Holtrop,
Chris Nance, Trevor Bushhouse, and Dan Nederhoed for their extremely successful
years as Knights, Calvin earned the win 4-0 against Kalamazoo.
The
Knights almost went up early on a head ball from junior Zach Willis. Off a
volley by Joe Broekhuizen, Willis put his head on the ball and it went just
over the crossbar.
In the 27th minute, senior Chris Nance gave the Knights their first
goal of the match on a fantastic shot from 25 yards out. On a pass from junior
Ben Honeycutt, Nance put a shot on net that dipped over Hornets keeper Dane
Macdonell, off the crossbar and into the net.
Calvin played strong defense during the first half, allowing no Kalamazoo shots
throughout its entirety.
The Knights padded their lead in the 52nd minute as Joe Broekhuizen
found Willis in the box. Willis, touching the ball past a few defenders,
slipped the left-footed shot underneath the arms of the charging Kalamazoo
keeper to push Calvin's advantage to 2-0.
A pair of Calvin headers then put the game out of reach for the Hornets, both
off deep Calvin free kicks. The first came off the foot of Holtrop in the 67th
minute, who put the ball right into the middle of the box. Not even looking at
net, sophomore Sean Broekhuizen
flicked the ball toward net with his head, putting the ball top shelf to give
Calvin a 3-0 lead.
The second came from the head of Joe Broekhuizen who rounded out the scoring in
the 84rd minute. On a free kick from younger brother, Sean, Joe made
a great run into the box and, utilizing his height, put his head on the ball
and placed it into the bottom right corner of the net.
Kalamazoo's best chance of the match came in the final minute when a foul was
called on Jared Rushlau in the box. The Hornets were awarded a penalty kick.
But, on the ensuing kick, Rushlau made a fantastic save, diving to his right
and keeping the ball out of the net to save the clean sheet.
Calvin finished the game with a 19-4 shots advantage, forcing Macdonell into
five saves while scoring four goals. Rushlau made two saves on his way to a
clean sheet on senior day.
“There is no doubt the work our seniors have had in this program. Their record
speaks for itself, and even this year, they've been incredibly gracious to me
and a new staff coming in,” said head coach Ryan Souders. “To see them play
well, to see us play well under their leadership, and to see a couple of them
get on the score sheet is pretty exciting.”
Calvin
is now 13-3-1 on the year, 11-1 in the MIAA. Kalamazoo drops to 9-6 overall and
7-5 in conference play. The Knights now look forward to Saturday when they will
travel to Adrian to face the Bulldogs. Opening kick at Adrian’s Performance
Stadium is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.
MIAA MEN’S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 10-24-12 GAMES
Calvin 11-1-0 (33 points)
Olivet 9-3-0 (27 points)
Hope 8-4-0 (24 points)
Kalamazoo 7-5-0 (21 points)
TCalvin 3, Trine 0
By Jordan Brink
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - The Calvin College women’s volleyball team improved its
conference record to 14-0 with a win over Trine University on Wednesday
night. The Knights battled and pulled
out a three set victory defeating the Thunder 25-19, 25-16, 25-18. With this
win, Calvin clinched a share of the
MIAA regular season title and also secured the top seed for the MIAA
Tournament. The MIAA title is Calvin’s third straight including its fifth under
current head coach Amber Warners. The title is also the 19th in
Calvin women’s volleyball history – more than any other MIAA school.
The
Knights (24-2, 14-0 MIAA) front line was key in pulling out the win. Calvin
had 11 team blocks, holding Trine to a
.029 clip. Calvin was led by senior
Lizzie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian) with 14 kills, while freshman
Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, IL/Chicago Christian) had ten. Junior Megan Rietema
(Grand Rapids/Grand
Rapids Christian) had 26 assists and nine digs.
“Trine
deserves a lot of credit for their defense and intensity tonight. We had to
work for everything,” said junior setter Megan Rietema after the match.
The
Thunder (18-10, 9-6 MIAA) were led by freshman Taylor Rabel and senior Betsy
Irwin with 9 and 8 kills respectively. Sophomore Carly Searles had an
impressive all-around performance with 13 assists, 14 digs, and four kills.
Calvin
will play its final home game of the regular season on Friday evening when it
faces off against Saint Mary’s College at 7 p.m. at Van Noord Arena.
MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 10-24-12 GAMES
Calvin 14-0
Hope 12-2
Trine 9-6
Alma 7-7
Saint Mary’s 7-7
Adrian 6-8
Kalamazoo 5-10
Olivet 4-10
Albion 0-14
Received on Wed Oct 24 22:20:12 2012
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