CKSR (Calvin Knight Saturday Sports Report for Oct. 19, 2013)

CALVIN KNIGHT SATURDAY SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 19, 2013

WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 3, Saint Mary's 0
By Mark DeHaan

Coming off a tie against the top-ranked team in the country this past Tuesday, the 18th ranked Calvin women's soccer team looked to continue its undefeated streak against the Belles of Saint Mary's. Since a 3-2 loss against Alma to open up their MIAA season, the Knights have gone 8-0-2, tying #1 Wheaton and Saint Mary's.

In Calvin's first contest against the Belles, the Knights played to a 0-0 draw despite holding a 21-9 shots advantage and a 10-2 edge in corner kicks.

On Saturday, Calvin was able to beat the Belles for a goal in the first half, opening up the Saint Mary's defense in the second. That opening allowed for a pair of insurance goals for the Knights en route to a 3-0 victory.

Neither team saw any strong chances on net until the 31st minute when sophomore Taylor TenHarmsel took a pass from senior Heidi Scholten at the top of the box. Taking one step to her right to open up space around her defender, TenHarmsel took a shot that beat the Belles keeper to the lower left corner of the net to give the Knights a 1-0 lead.

The Knights were able to rattle off a few more shots in the first half, but none threatened the Belles keeper and Calvin took the 1-0 lead into halftime.

The Knights held a 6-2 shots advantage in the first half of play.

Out of the break, TenHarmsel had a strong shot on net in the 58th minute that looked to be heading for the back of the goal before Saint Mary's goalie Chanler Rosenbaum made a diving save.

Calvin added an insurance goal just minutes later. In the 65th minute, senior Danielle Carter out-jumped the Belles defense on a corner kick from sophomore Sydney Kinney and hit the bottom left corner of the net, giving the Knights a 2-0 advantage.

Senior Kelly Koets closed out the scoring just over ten minutes later, collecting a ball in the box and blasting a shot past the Saint Mary's keeper for a 3-0 Calvin lead.

Calvin senior keeper Ashton Hearn made a couple of key plays in the final 15 minutes, twice coming off her line to steal the ball off the foot of a Belles attacker and seal a Knights victory.

Calvin earned a 15-5 shots advantage by the end of the game while both teams had three corner kicks. Hearn made one save in net to earn the clean sheet for the Knights.

"I think you have to attack (Saint Mary's defense) in certain ways," said head coach Mark Recker. "They have two solid center backs. You can't play indecisive balls, you can't play lazy balls, and you really have to make (their center backs) commit to the play and play around them. Over the past couple days, we'd been specifically practicing some means of attacking (this defense). Taylor's goal, the whole passing sequence, was really what we had trained."

Calvin improves to 9-1-1 in the MIAA, retaking the top spot from Alma, and 12-1-2 overall. Saint Mary's drops to 6-6-3 overall and 4-4-3 in conference play.

The Knights now look forward to Tuesday when they will travel to Albion for a 4:00 p.m. contest against the Britons.

MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 6, Trine 2

By Mark DeHaan

Calvin men's soccer hosted the Thunder of Trine on Saturday afternoon. Despite an early goal from the Thunder, Calvin recovered to score six goals in the contest, three in the second half, as it defeated Trine 6-2.

The Knights and Thunder entered the weekend contest at opposite ends of the conference standings, with Calvin atop the MIAA at 6-2-0 and Trine last at 0-8-0.

Despite the difference in league position, Trine came out on fire and jumped on the Knights early. Under four minutes into the game, Mac Green slipped a shot past Calvin junior keeper Andrew Claucherty to give the Thunder a 1-0 lead.

Calvin responded 25 seconds later as a Knights attacker was taken down at the top of the Trine box. Calvin was awarded a penalty kick and junior Travis Vegter stepped up and put the ball into the back of the net, tying the match at 1-1.

In the 13th minute, the Knights took their first lead of the game as freshman Stephan Hooker beat the Trine keeper for a goal and a 2-1 Calvin advantage.

Vegter added his second goal of the game in the 22nd minute. Senior Zach Willis made a great run down the left flank, beating his defender and dribbling down onto the end line. Willis then crossed the ball into the middle where Vegter was waiting, flicking the ball into the net for a 3-1 Calvin lead and his 18th goal on the year.

The wild first half was not over, however, as Trine responded with a goal of its own. Kenny Rappuhn collected the ball for the Thunder about 40 yards out of Calvin's net. Seeing the Knight keeper off his line, Rappuch sent a chip in on net that beat Calvin's goalie top shelf to cut the Knights lead to 3-2, where the score would be at half.

Trine held a 5-4 shots advantage in the first half. Neither team saw a corner kick opportunity in the opening period.

In the second half, Willis and sophomore Taylor Pruis connected for a pair of goals.

In the 56th minute, Pruis fed Willis in the middle of the field for a tap in goal. Minutes later, it was Willis returning the favor as he hit a streaking Pruis in the box for a goal. The two goals gave the Knights a 5-2 lead.

Calvin's final goal came in the 74th minute. Freshman Matthew Koster sent a cross to the top of the box which was hit first time by freshman Lance Van Tine as it came down to the turf. Van Tine's shot beat the Trine keeper to the bottom corner of the net for the freshman's first collegiate goal and the 6-2 Knights advantage.

Calvin outshot the Thunder 15-7 in the contest. Claucherty made one save in net while earning the win.

"No team is going to come in and lay down, and Trine is no different," said head coach Ryan Souders.
"I thought we attacked well in the first half, we didn't defend well in the first half, but we really remedied that in the second. Our guys came out of halftime, did what we've committed to and we increased the lead - I think this is a good win to get us back moving in the direction we want to go."

Calvin stays in first place in the MIAA with the win, moving to 7-2-0 in conference and 8-5-0 overall. Trine falls to 2-11-1 overall and 0-9-0 in league play.

The Knights return to action on Wednesday when they host the Bulldogs of Adrian for a 4:00 p.m. contest.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY

WINNECONNE, WI - The Calvin women's cross country team repeated as champion at the Wisconsin-Oshkosh Brooks Invitational Saturday afternoon at the Lake Breeze Golf Course, recording a team score of 71 points. Ranked eighth nationally, Calvin finished 49 points ahead of sixth-ranked University of Chicago which placed second.

The Knights featured the stellar one-two punch of front of freshman Cassie Vince (Amherst, OH/Amherst HS) and senior Nicole Michmerhuizen (Holland/Holland Christian HS) as Vince was fifth (21:39 on the 6K course while Michmerhuizen was eighth (21:46).

Junior Sarah Danner (Watkins Glen, NY/Charles Dickerson HS) and senior Alyssa Oram (Cheboygan/Home Schooled) were next for Calvin in a tight pack with Danner placing 16th (22:18) and Oram 19th (22:19).

Junior Kimby Penning (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) was the fifth runner for Calvin, placing 30th (22:36) while senior Rebekah Folkema (Renfrew, ON/Renfrew Collegiate Institute) was 33rd and freshman Lauren Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) 65th (23:08).

"We had a really strong performance," said Calvin head cross country coach Brian Diemer. "We are starting to show that we will be a team to be reckoned with at the end of the year."

In the men's competition, 24th-ranked Calvin also took a step forward as the Knights took seventh in a loaded field of nationally-ranked team, recording a team score of 234 points. Most notable in the finish was the fact that Calvin finished one point ahead of Wabash which entered the week ranked 13th nationally and number-one in the Great Lakes Region, one spot ahead of Calvin in the regional poll. At the Notre Dame Invitational two weeks prior, Wabash finished 46 points ahead of Calvin.

"We took a big step forward today," said Diemer. "We have some work to do yet but things are starting to come together. We had some youngsters and some veterans work together in today's race. That's a good sign for the upcoming weeks for our team."

Freshman Zac Nowicki (Comstock Park/Calvin Christian HS) was the top finisher for Calvin in the 8K race, placing 30th (25:18) while senior Sam Kerk (Hartland, WI/Lake Country Lutheran HS) was 57th (25:40).

Next for Calvin was senior Philip Spitzer (Buckley/Buckley HS) in 68th (25:46), sophomore Jeff Meitler (New Berlin, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran HS) in 69th (25:47) and junior Josh Ferguson (Naperville, IL/Neuqua Valley HS) in 93rd (26:01). Freshman Jonathan Schaap (Mahomet, IL/Mahomet-Seymour HS) was 93rd (26:01) and junior Jacob Kuyvenhoven (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) 107th (26:10).

Top-ranked North Central took first place with 33 points while third-ranked Washington University (MO) was second (64 points) and 14th-ranked UW-Eau Claire 3rd with 133 points. Seventh-ranked UW-Oshkosh was fourth (152 points), Division II Wisconsin-Parkside fifth (223 points) and 17th-ranked University of Chicago sixth (230 points).

Calvin also sent teams to the Manchester Invitational on Saturday. In the women's race, Calvin was second with 40 points. In the men's race, Calvin was second with 62 points. Host Manchester won the men's race with 15 points while Saint Mary's won the women's race with 34 points.

In the women's race, Calvin placed four runners in the top 25 led by freshman Lauren Strobehn (Stillwater, MN/St. Croix Prepatory) in fourth place 23:52 on the 6K course. Senior Margeaux Carter (Yellow Jacket, CO/Montezuma-Cortez HS) was ninth (24:02), freshman Kristen Brink (Dyer, IN/Illiana Christian HS) 15th (24:09) and junior Lisa Schultz (Caledonia/Caledonia HS) 25th (24:34).

In the men's race, freshman Alex Johnson (Eugene, OR/Henry D. Sheldon HS) cracked the top 10, placing eighth (27:21) while freshman Jordan Kramer (Pewaukee, WI/Lake Country Lutheran HS) was 20th (27:46). Also of note, sophomore Seth Borchardt (Menomonee Falls, WI/Milwaukee Lutheran HS) was 33rd (27:49) and sophomore Landon Potts (Caledonia/South Christian HS) was 47th (27:57).

Both Calvin teams will now prepare to compete at the MIAA Championships scheduled to be hosted by Hope College on November 2 at the West Ottawa Golf Course.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

The Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving teams kicked off their respective seasons by hosting the non-scored MIAA Relays Saturday afternoon inside the Venema Aquatic Center.

Both Calvin teams had strong showings in the annual competition which at times, features an unusual combination of relay events.

In the women's competition, Calvin took first place in nine swimming events. On the men's side, Calvin took first place in eight swimming events.

First place performances for the Calvin women included:

*Senior Kristy Kinzer (Fort Wayne, IN/Homestead HS , sophomore Michaela Rookus (Hudsonville/Hudsonville HS), junior Lexi Scott (Richmond, IN/Richmond HS) and junior Kathryn Wrobel (Arden Hills, MN/Mounds View HS) in the 200 medley relay (1:51.59).

*Junior Erika Waugh (Berne, IN/South Adams HS), Kinzer, freshman Megan Schroder (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and junior Betsy Otten (Sheboygan, WI/Sheboygan County Christian HS) in the 200 backstroke relay (1:53.07).

*Scott, freshman Adrienne Wesselius (Sioux Center, IA/Unity Christian HS), freshman Nicole Karl (Riverview/Riverview Community HS) and Rookus in the 200 breaststroke relay (2:10.25).

*Wrobel, Waugh and senior Elizabeth Schleh (Mount Vernon, WA/Academy Northwest HS) in the 1,500 freestyle relay (16:30.98).

*Kinzer, Waugh, Otten and Schroder in the 100 backstroke relay (52.88).

*Scott, Wesselius, Karl and Rookus in the 100 breaststroke relay (58.47).

*Rookus, Wesselius, senior Margaret Rechel (Worthington, OH/Thomas Worthington HS) in the 100 freestyle relay (45.38).

*Scott, Waugh, sophomore Alayna Gallegos (Lakeville, MN/Lakeville HS), and Kinzer in the 4x100 IM relay (4:18.64).

*Rookus, Schroder, Rechel and Wrobel in the 200 freestyle relay (1:41.26).

On the men's side, Calvin took first place in the following events:

*Senior Andrew Mitchell (Iron Mountain/Kingsford HS), sophomore Johnson Cochran (Mount Vernon, OH/Mount Vernon HS), senior Peter Johnson (Oak Forest, IL/Home Schooled) and sophomore Mitch Schroder (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 200 medley relay (1:36.41).

*Freshman Brett Stoughton (Centerville, IN/Centerville HS), sophomore Brandon Muma (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern HS), freshman Jesse Ruter (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) and Mitchell in the 200 backstroke relay (1:40.37).

*Stoughton, Muma, junior Nathan Terschak (St. Louis, MO/Westminster Christian Academy) and Johnson in the 100 butterfly relay (42.45).

*Stoughton, Muma, Ruter and Mitchell in the 100 backstroke relay (44.96).

*Freshman Eli Holstege (Kewsick, VA/Covenant HS), freshman Marshall Campbell (Gladstone, MO/Home Schooled), junior Andrew Vanderlei (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) and Cochran in the 100 breaststroke relay (48.80).

*Mitchell, Schroder, junior Alex Baumann (Holland/Holland Christian HS) and Holstege in the 100 freestyle relay (38.87).

*Sophomore Caleb Meindertsma (Annandale, VA/Trinity Christian HS), sophomore Aaron Venema (Grand Haven/Grand Haven HS) and Baumann in the 1,500 freestyle relay (15:04.37).

*Stoughton, Cochran, Mitchell and Johnson in the 4x100 IM relay (3:40.14).

Both Calvin teams will now prepare to host Grand Valley State and Hillsdale in a triangular meet next Friday at home at 5 p.m.
Received on Sat Oct 19 23:17:25 2013