CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR NOVEMBER 10, 2013
Men's Soccer Falls in Penalty Kick Shootout with Hope in MIAA Tournament Final;
Women's Soccer Advances to NCAA III Tournament with 2-0 Win Over Hope in MIAA Tournament Final;
Volleyball Advances to NCAA III Tournament with Five-Set Win Over Hope in MIAA Tournament Final;
Swimming and Diving Teams Split Dual Meets With Wheaton
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 1, Hope 1 (Hope wins shootout 5-4)
By Mark DeHaan
Calvin men's soccer hosted the Flying Dutch of Hope College on Saturday afternoon for the MIAA Tournament Final. The teams split the regular season series, with Calvin winning 5-1 at home and losing 3-1 at Hope.
Unfortunately for Calvin, a well-played match did not spell victory for the Knights, and a penalty shootout thriller eventually fell into Hope's favor.
The Flying Dutchmen owned the beginning of the match. Hope pressured Calvin's net from the onset, tallying six shots in the opening seven minutes.
None of the chances were more threatening than a head ball from Hope senior Grant Neil which fortunately found the arms of Calvin junior keeper Andrew Claucherty.
The Knights also had a great chance on net in the opening half. Sophomore Taylor Pruis made a run up the sideline, beating his Hope defender down to the end line. Pruis then found junior Travis Vegter in the box, whose ensuing shot was saved right at the post by the Flying Dutchmen's goalie.
In the second half, Hope scored the first goal of the match in the 58th minute. Off of a corner kick, Cameron Dice collected a rebound on the end line and placed the ball off the crossbar and into the net for a 1-0 Flying Dutchmen lead.
Calvin responded minutes later. A pass from Pruis found Knights junior Sean Broekhuizen in the center of the box. Broekhuizen then rocketed a shot past the Hope keeper to equalize the match at 1-1 in the 63rd minute.
The final 25-plus minutes were played tightly on both sides, with neither team able to beat the opposing defense as the game went into overtime.
In overtime, again, the defenses were too strong for either team's attack, and the game played through both overtimes with only two shots on goal.
The match then headed into penalty kicks.
The Flying Dutchmen, shooting first, made their first four penalty kicks. Calvin made three of its first four, setting up Hope's Tarwo Konbloa for the potential game winner.
Konbloa hit the ensuing kick wide of the net, setting up freshman Stephan Hooker to tie the game.
Hooker calmly stepped up and hit the shot, sending the game into sudden death penalty kicks.
The first kick is where the match would end for Calvin, as a Hope goal and then a save by the Flying Dutchmen keeper Ethan Beswick claimed the MIAA Tournament Championship for Hope.
Calvin is now 14-5-1 overall while Hope, now 16-4-2, claims the automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament. The assist by Pruis earlier in the game was his 17th of the season, matching the Calvin single-season record for assists originally set by Joey Barone in 1991 and later matched by Nick Capisciolto in 2005.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Hope 0
By Mark DeHaan
Facing the Flying Dutch of Hope for the second time in less than a week, the Calvin women's soccer team was looking to defeat Hope in as many chances when the Knights hosted the MIAA Tournament Final on Saturday.
The Knights did just that, earning a 2-0 victory at home to claim the MIAA Tournament Championship and the conference's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Tournament.
The first half was played very evenly, with five shots apiece and two corners for each team.
The best scoring chance of the first half came in the 38th minute, when a penalty kick for sophomore Taylor TenHarmsel was turned aside by the Hope keeper.
After halftime, Calvin saw a quick spurt of offense make the difference in the game. In the 60th minute, TenHarmsel sent a cross to the back post which was headed in by sophomore Christina Drost, sprinting in from the far sideline to make the game 1-0 in Calvin's favor.
Less than a minute later, senior Kelly Koets added an insurance goal, finding the bottom left corner of the goal from the top of the box for a 2-0 Knights advantage.
Calvin's defense held strong for the remainder of the game, holding Hope to only four second half shots as the Knights finished off the Flying Dutch to claim the MIAA Tournament championship.
Senior goalkeeper Ashton Hearn made one save in net to earn the clean sheet - the 32nd of her collegiate career.
"In the second half we were able to recognize they were dropping the center into space and then tipping on. We were very active in trying to reduce their first touch (in the second half)," said head coach Mark Rekcer. "I keep telling our team that you can't let someone else outwork you. If they're outworking you you aren't giving your best, and they've bought into that. I'm amazed by what this team is able to do year in and year out, and it's a tribute to them as players."
Calvin advances into the NCAA Tournament, set to begin next weekend. The Knights first round opponent will be announced on Monday during the NCAA Selection Show, set for 1:30 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Calvin 3, Hope 2 (20-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-15, 15-12)
By Mark DeHaan
A triple feature of Calvin-Hope MIAA Championship contests accumulated in an evening matchup between the top two volleyball teams in Division III. With a Hope victory in men's soccer and a Calvin win in women's soccer, volleyball was set up as the rubber match between the two long-time rivals.
Like anyone would expect between two highly ranked and skilled teams, the match came down to the wire, with Calvin claiming the five-set victory, 20-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-15, 15-12.
The first set saw Hope claim a five point victory. The Flying Dutch hit .368 in the first set, recording four blocks on the Knights. Anna Lynch and Jenna Grasmeyer each had four kills in set one without committing an error.
The Knights responded with a hard-fought 25-22 victory. Calvin held the Flying Dutch to a hitting percentage of .081. Senior Kristi Zietse was huge in set two for the Knights, tallying eight digs while senior Megan Rietema had four kills.
Hope again took a set lead with a 25-20 win in the third set. The teams were tied at 17-17 before a surge from the Flying Dutch and an 8-3 run closed out the set. Neither team hit well in set three, but Grasmeyer tallied seven kills for Hope.
Set four was an impressive showing from the Knights, rebounding from the set three loss for a 25-15 victory. Hope hit -.050 in the set while Calvin's front line tallied four blocks.
In the decisive fifth set, errors hurt the Knights out of the break. Three errors by the Knights allowed the Flying Dutch to build a 7-2 lead. A kill from sophomore Maggie Kamp and five straight errors by Hope then gave Calvin an 8-7 lead before the teams switched sides of the court.
The Knights continued to hold their momentum after the switch, taking a 10-7 advantage before Hope responded with a point, ending the 8-0 Calvin run. The Knights then closed out the fifth set 15-12 on a kill from Kamp, claiming the 3-2 sets victory.
The Knights were led by junior Ellie Diepersloot who had 13 kills. Kamp chipped in 12 kills and 14 digs while junior Emily Crowe had 10 kills. Rietema had a near triple-double with 40 assists, 11 digs, and nine kills. Zietse led the Knights with 20 digs.
Grasmeyer led the Flying Dutch with 21 kills while Lynch and Courtney Earles both added 10. Lauren Hazekamp led Hope in both assists and digs, tallying 46 and 17, respectively.
"I was really proud of (the team's) fight. We're still relatively experienced when it comes to situations like that because we haven't been in them that much, and the fact that they came back, that was what I was most proud of," said head coach Amber Warners.
After the match, the MIAA individual awards were announced with Rietema earning Most Valuable Player, Zietse winning Defensive Player of the Year, and Laura Danhoff named Freshman of the Year.
"It's a big honor, but it all comes from my team" said Rietema on being named MVP. "We talk about that a lot - individual honors don't really matter at all, it's all about the team and how you work together that matters in the end."
Rietema, Kamp, and Zietse were named All-MIAA First Team while Danhoff and Crowe were selected to the second team.
"All of the honors we received in the MIAA are very humbling," said Warners. "But, I think anyone on the team would rather take the wins and have no individual awards. We're practicing and fighting and spending all this time together, and from the 17th person who doesn't get in on, we're really all equal members of the group."
The Knights now look forward to the beginning of the NCAA Tournament. Calvin, likely to host a regional, will find out their opponent on Monday at 11 a.m. with the broadcasting of the NCAA Selection Show.
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S SWIMMING AND DIVING
The Calvin men's and women's swimming and diving teams hosted non-conference rival Wheaton Saturday afternoon inside the Venema Aquatic Center. In the men's meet, Calvin defeated Wheaton 177-119 while the Calvin women were defeated by the Thunder 166-130.
The Calvin men are now 3-3 in dual meet action while the Calvin women are now 4-3.
Highlights for the Calvin men included:
*Freshman Brett Stoughton (Centerville, IN/Centerville HS) winning the 200 fly (1:59.35), 200 IM (1:59.32) and 200 backstroke (1:59.77).
*Sophomore Johnson Cochran (Mount Vernon, OH/Mount Vernon HS) winning the 100 backstroke (58.24) and 200 breaststroke (2:07.81).
*Sophomore Mitch Schroder (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) winning the 100 freestyle (1:47.32).
*Sophomore Aaron Venema (Grand Haven/Grand Haven HS) winning the 500 freestyle (4:50.05).
*Senior Peter Johnson (Oak Forest, IL/Home Schooled) winning the 100 butterfly (53.39).
*Calvin's 400 freestyle relay team of senior Andrew Mitchell (Iron Mountain/Kingsford HS), Schroder, sophomore Brandon Muma (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern HS) and junior Alex Baumann (Holland/Holland Christian HS) winning in a time of 3:11.43.
*Calvin's 200 medley relay team of Stoughton, Cochran, Johnson and Mitchell winning in a time of 1:35.61.
On the women's side, Calvin received victories from:
*Sophomore Michaela Rookus (Hudsonville/Hudsonville HS) in the 50 freestyle (24.64) and 200 IM (2:11.93).
*Junior Rebecca Mumby (Spring Lake/Spring Lake HS) on the one-meter diving board (265.19).
*Junior Kathryn Wrobel (Arden Hills, MN/Moundsview HS) in the 500 free (5:19.02)
*Sophomore Lizz Roth (Brighton/Brighton HS) on the three-meter diving board (253.12).
Received on Sun Nov 10 00:25:11 2013
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