CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR NOV. 7, 2013
Men's and Women's Soccer to Face Hope in Tournament Finals After Semifinal Wins;
Men's Basketball Drops Exhibition Contest to Ferris State
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 3, Kalamazoo 0
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin men's soccer hosted a MIAA semi-final matchup on Thursday against the Hornets of Kalamazoo. Calvin, the top seed in the MIAA, and Kalamazoo, the fourth seed, split the regular season series, with the Hornets winning the first contest at Calvin 3-0, and the Knights avenging the loss with a 4-3 victory at Kalamazoo.
With a berth in the MIAA Tournament Final on the line, Calvin got the best of the Hornets in the most important of their three matchups this season, defeating Kalamazoo 3-0 at Zuidema Field.
Calvin took the lead in the 26th minute as junior Sean Broekhuizen headed in a throw-in from junior Travis Vegter to put the Knights up 1-0.
Vegter then added an insurance goal in the 42nd minute, recovering the ball after getting tripped up by a a Hornets defender and blasting a shot top-shelf past the Kalamazoo keeper for a 2-0 Calvin advantage.
The Knight held a 10-7 shots advantage at halftime, netting two of their four shots on goal.
Minutes after the break, Vegter scored another goal, receiving a pass from sophomore Taylor Pruis in the box and dribbling past the Hornets goalie to give Calvin a 3-0 lead.
The three goal advantage proved to be more than enough as the Knights defense was strong all game long. Kalamazoo's best opportunity came in the 71st minute on a shot from the top of the box that was tipped over by Calvin junior keeper Andrew Claucherty.
Calvin's defense shut down the Hornets attack for the remainder of the game, holding the shutout as the Knights advanced to the MIAA Tournament Final with the 3-0 victory.
Calvin outshot Kalamazoo 18-15. Claucherty made five saves in goal to preserve the clean sheet.
"Kalamazoo has played us well all year, but getting that first goal was huge," said head coach Ryan Souders. "I thought, overall, we defended pretty well today. We limited their really good chances, and then when we got chances, we were able to put them away. (Saturday), there's a lot on the line. A chance to get the automatic qualifier (for the NCAA Tournament), a chance to win another conference title, and there's going to be two good teams there. We're going to prepare to get the AQ, simple as that."
Calvin advances to the MIAA Tournament Final which will be played Saturday at Zuidema Field at noon. Calvin will face Hope which defeated Olivet 2-0 in Thursday's other semifinal.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 3, Adrian 0
By Mark DeHaan
Looking to avenge their most recent defeat, the Calvin women's soccer team hosted the Bulldogs of Adrian on Thursday afternoon in a MIAA Tournament semi-final matchup. The Knights lost to the Bulldogs 1-0 just two weeks ago.
A well-fought first half saw the game tied at the break, but three goals from the Knights in the second half, two from sophomore Paige Capel, earned Calvin a 3-0 victory as its defense stifled the Adrian attack.
Adrian had the best attempt of the first half off of a corner kick. A ball was played into Calvin's box at the near post, and in a scrum of players, Adrian forward Erin Weide nearly put the ball in if not for a great save by senior goalie Ashton Hearn which pushed the attempt aside.
Calvin held an 11-1 shots advantage and 4-1 corner kick edge at the break, but the game remained scoreless.
The Knights then broke out of their offensive funk in the second half. Capel took a pass in the box, and bringing the ball toward the center of the box off the end line, ripped a left-footed shot which was too powerful for the goalkeeper, deflecting off her hands and into the net to give Calvin a 1-0 lead.
In the 59th minute, Calvin's attack continued when Heidi Scholten put an attempted clear back into the Adrian box, switching the field with the cross. Streaking in was sophomore Christina Drost who beat the Bulldogs keeper to the ball and headed the bouncing ball into the vacant net for a 2-0 Knights advantage.
Capel put an exclamation point on the flurry of goals in the 63rd minute. Dribbling along the top of the box, Capel launched a left-footed shot which hit upper-90 past a diving Bulldogs keeper, giving Calvin a 3-0 lead.
Hearn made two big saves in the second half, tipping a shot by Weide over the crossbar and also stopping a point-blank attempt by Adrian's Abby Doebel.
The Calvin defense kept the Adrian attack off-balance all game long, swarming to the ball in numbers and preventing any Bulldog counter-attacks. The Knights closed out the 3-0 victory, matching the outcome of the men's soccer game versus Kalamazoo played earlier in the day.
The Knights outshot Adrian 20-7 while also claiming a 6-2 corner kick advantage. Hearn made five saves in net in a fantastic shutout effort.
"In the first half, I think Capel gave up a couple of opportunities in front of net. I was proud of her that she took the challenge at half time and really went after it when she had the two opportunities in the second half," said head coach Mark Recker. "(Saturday), we'll have to bring our best to the opportunity.
Hope will have a lot of motivation, and we'll have to endure a strong effort from them."
Moving into the MIAA Tournament Final, Calvin will face-off against rival Hope, who defeated Alma 1-0 on Thursday afternoon in the other semi-final game. The matchup will be the second in a single week between the Knights and the Flying Dutch, with Calvin winning Monday's contest 1-0.
Saturday's MIAA Final will be played at 2:30 p.m. at Calvin's Zuidema Field.
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Ferris State 85, Calvin 70
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin College was treated to its first basketball game of the season on Tuesday evening as the Calvin men's basketball team hosted Division II Ferris State for an exhibition game.
After a strong first half and a two-point lead at half time, Calvin came out flat in the second half and was outscored by the Bulldogs 43-26 in the second period, dropping the exhibition contest 85-70.
The two teams played each other close early on, tied 10-10 under four minutes into the contest.
The Bulldogs then jumped out to ten point lead at 24-14 on a 14-4 run, with sophomore Jibreel Jackson scoring seven of Ferris State's 14 points in the run.
Calvin, led by senior Mickey DeVries, responded with a run of its own, cutting the Bulldogs advantage to 26-25. The Knights then took their second lead of the half on a three-pointer by junior Jordan Brink at 30-28.
The teams battled back and forth for the final seven-plus minutes of opening half, with Calvin taking a 44-42 lead into the break.
DeVries led all first-half scorers with 12 points, while Brink and senior Tyler Kruis each added eight. The Knights shot 53.3% in the first half as well as 8-of-9 from the free-throw stripe. Calvin also out-rebounded the Bulldogs 19-17.
Out of the break, Ferris State opened up the second half with a 9-0 run to take a 51-44 lead.
The Bulldogs continued to expand their lead, bringing the score to 62-51 on an emphatic fast-break dunk by sophomore Josh Fleming.
In the final ten minutes, Calvin would come no closer than nine as every Calvin push was met by Fleming and the Bulldogs.
Ferris State closed out the game, earning the 85-70 win, outscoring Calvin 43-26 in the second half. The Knights shot just 34.5% in the second half.
Calvin was led on offense by DeVries and Kruis who each scored 14 points. Kruis added eight rebounds. Jordan Brink tallied 10 points.
Fleming led the Bulldogs with 20 points, Dietrich Lever added 17 points and James Chappell had 10 points and eight rebounds.
"It was really good to get out and play against someone, and someone who is probably that is the opposite of us in that they are very quick and athletic team. When you play against someone good they hold you accountable," said head coach Kevin VandeStreek. "I think we're a lot better now than we were at 7:30, and we have some things to work on, but I liked our effort."
Calvin now looks forward to Tuesday, November 19 when its regular season schedule begins with an away contest at Anderson.
Received on Thu Nov 7 23:17:10 2013
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