CKSR (Women's Soccer Defeats Kalamazoo 2-1/Swimming and Diving Teams Ranked 16th by Collegeswimming.com)

CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 30, 2013

Women's Soccer Defeats Kalamazoo 2-1 to Move Back Into Share of MIAA Lead;
Swimming and Diving Teams Ranked 16th by Collegeswimming.com

WOMEN'S SOCCER
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin 2, Kalamazoo 1

Calvin women's soccer played host to Kalamazoo on Wednesday evening. The Knights entered the contest three points behind Hope in the conference standings, and with the win, would tie up the Flying Dutch for the MIAA lead as Hope was not in action.

Calvin defeated the Hornets 4-0 at Kalamazoo earlier this season, and with a 2-1 win at Zuidema Field on Wednesday, swept the season series.

The game was very defensive in the first half as both teams combined for just five shots, with Kalamazoo holding a 3-2 advantage at the break.

After halftime, Calvin found the offense it was lacking in the first half as sophomore Paige Capel set up senior Kelly Koets in the middle of the box who gave the Knights a 1-0 lead in the 48th minute.

Minutes later, Koets almost added a second goal as she headed a corner kick from sophomore Sydney Kinney toward frame that was denied by the crossbar.

Calvin continued to pressure, and in the 77th minute, Capel scored an important insurance goal. Making a run up the sideline, Capel beat her defender onto the end line and made a run for the near post. Capel then shot the ball near post, beating the keeper to give the Knights a 2-0 advantage.

Kalamazoo responded in the 85th minute as Elizabeth Clevenger took a cross from Bronte Payne and one-touched it into the far netting past the Calvin keeper, cutting the Knights lead to 2-1.

Calvin fought off the Hornets for the remaining five minutes of regulation to earn the 2-1 victory.

The Knights outshot Kalamazoo 15-4 for the game, 13-1 in the second half. Calvin senior goalkeeper Ashton Hearn made one save to earn the win while her Kalamazoo counterpart Lucy Mailing made eight saves in a strong effort despite the loss.

"It has been rare this season that a team has been able to outshoot us in half, and Kalamazoo came ready to play today," said head coach Mark Recker.

"We knew we weren't generating the same amount of movement that we are used to, so as a team we moved out of the system we started in and moved into another one to create some additional chances. I think we did that and did it quite often in the second half, their goalie came up big and kept them in the game - I credit (Kalamazoo's defense), specifically their goalie for what she did in net."

Calvin moves into a tie with Hope at the top of the MIAA standings with the win, improving to 11-2-1 in the conference and 14-2-2 overall. Kalamazoo falls to 6-8-0 in league play and 7-10-0 overall.

The Knights return to action on Saturday when they travel to Olivet for a noon matchup against the Comets.

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING

The Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving teams have cracked the first Division III rankings compiled by Collegeswimming.com.
The Calvin women are ranked 16th while the Calvin men are also ranked 16th.
The men's poll can be found online at: http://www.collegeswimming.com/performance/?gender=M&division=3&startdate=2013-09-30&enddate=2013-10-27
The women's poll can be found online at: http://www.collegeswimming.com/performance/?gender=F&division=3&startdate=2013-09-30&enddate=2013-10-27
Both Calvin teams are back in action this Saturday, traveling to Alma for MIAA dual meet action slated to start at 1 p.m.
Received on Wed Oct 30 23:25:34 2013