CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2015
Men's Soccer Shuts Out Adrian - Remains on Top of MIAA Standings;
Volleyball Sweeps Trine - Remains Unbeaten in League Play;
Cross Country Teams Remain Nationally-Ranked
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 3, Adrian 0
The Calvin men's soccer team remained on top of the MIAA standings with a 3-0 victory over the visiting Adrian Bulldogs Wednesday afternoon at Zuidema Field.
Ranked sixth nationally, the Knights are now 9-0-1 overall and 5-0-0 in the MIAA, three points ahead of 4-1-0 Kalamazoo. Calvin will host Kalamazoo on Saturday at Zuidema Field in a first place MIAA showdown.
Calvin dominated the match, firing 36 shots at goal but Adrian's defense put up a strong effort to keep the Knights off the board until the waning moments of the first half.
Senior Nick Groenewold (Oak Brook, IL/Timothy Christian HS) nearly put the Knights up 1-0 in the 18th minute of play as he headed a shot to the far post that was cleared off the line by an Adrian defender.
Calvin continued to pepper the Adrian goal and broke through with 5:24 left in the first half as sophomore Micah Beard (Otsego/Otsego HS) poked in a shot after an Adrian defensive miscue to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. The goal was the team-leading fifth of the year for Beard.
In the second half, Calvin continued to pressure the Adrian goal and grabbed a 2-0 lead in the 65th minute as senior Sam Hanover (DeWitt/DeWitt HS) was set up by sophomore Mitch Stark (South Lyon/South Lyon HS) with a well-placed crossing pass in the box. Hanover made no mistake on the Stark pass, firing a shot past the Adrian goalkeeper for his third goal of the season.
The Knights then sealed the win in the 75th minute as sophomore Matt Hinds (Frankenmuth/Frankenmuth HS) was able to beat the Adrian goalkeeper from a sharp angle after receiving a pass from freshman Jacob Witte (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS). The goal was the second of the year for Hinds.
Calvin senior goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos (Markham, Ont./St. Augustine Catholic HS) was credited with his sixth shutout of the season.
"I thought we had a quality team effort this afternoon," said Calvin men's soccer coach Ryan Souders. "Adrian came out very determined to keep us from scoring but we stuck with it, remained patient and the goals came. Adrian is a team on the rise so we feel very good about this win. We know that will face another challenging opponent in Kalamazoo on Saturday. First place will be on the line so we will need to bring our 'A' game to the pitch."
Saturday's game against Kalamazoo will feature a rematch of the 2014 MIAA Tournament Championship final which ended in a 1-1 tie but saw Calvin win a penalty kick shootout to claim the tournament crown.
MIAA MEN'S SOCCER STANDINGS THROUGH 9-30-15 GAMES
Calvin 5-0
Kalamazoo 4-1
Alma 3-2
Adrian 3-2
Trine 2-3
Albion 2-3
Hope 1-4
Olivet 0-5
VOLLEYBALL
ANGOLA, Ind. - The Knights improved to 13-3 on the year with a victory on the road on Wednesday evening at Trine, 3-0. Calvin is now 7-0 in MIAA play, Trine falls to 6-9 and 4-4 in the MIAA.
"I was very pleased with how we responded after a slow start," said head coach Amber Warners. "We maintained our composure against a scrappy Trine team."
Junior Laura Danhoff (Willard, Ohio/Willard HS) jumped out to a strong start in the first set, Danhoff tallied five kills in the first set. With the set tied at six, Calvin would go on a 4-0 run behind the serve of freshman Keilahna Castillo (Grandville, Mich./Grandville HS) to make the score, 10-6. Trine would take two points before Calvin would go on a 5-0 run on the serve of senior Jamie Kooiman (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene HS), with Laura Danhoff recording two kills and two blocks on the run, to make it, 15-8. The Knights would go on a 10-6 run to close out the set, 25-14.
The Knights broke open the second set tied at two with a 10-1 run to lead, 12-3. The 10-1 run was anchored by senior Maggie Kamp (Orland Park, Ill./Chicago Christian HS) who recorded two kills and an ace in the run and sophomore Tessa Van Laare (Toronto, Ontario/Toronto District Christian) who also had two kills. With Calvin leading, 13-6, the Knights would take the next four points behind the serve of Jamie Kooiman to make it, 17-6. Calvin would extend the lead to, 24-11, Trine tried to climb back but Calvin would go on to take the set, 25-15.
Calvin would jump out to an early 7-0 lead in the third set that was highlighted by an ace from sophomore Emily Blankespoor (Grand Rapids, Mich./South Christian HS). The third set would be all Knights with Calvin taking the final set, 25-8. Calvin finished the set with a .550 hitting-percentage, recording 11 kills with zero errors.
Laura Danhoff and Maggie Kamp led the Knights with nine kills and two aces. Danhoff also recorded 5.0 blocks on the night. Sophomore Jenna Lodewyk (Villa Park, Ill./Timothy Christian HS) tallied 25 assists and eight digs on Wednesday evening.
Calvin returns to action on Tuesday as it hosts Adrian at 6:30 from Van Noord Arena. The match will be a part of the third annual Knight of Nets weekend at Calvin, an event that raise money to fight malaria.
MIAA VOLLEYBALL STANDINGS THROUGH 9-30-15 MATCHES
Calvin 7-0
Hope 6-1
Saint Mary's 4-3
Adrian 4-3
Trine 4-4
Alma 3-4
Albion 2-5
Olivet 2-5
Kalamazoo 0-7
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
The Calvin men's and women's cross country teams both remain nationally-ranked. The Calvin women's team is ranked 10th in this week's USTFCCCA Division III Top 25 poll released this afternoon. The Calvin men's team is ranked 16th.
Both polls can be found online at: http://www.ustfccca.org/2015/09/featured/movement-in-mens-and-womens-diii-national-coaches-poll
Both Calvin cross country teams will compete at the Notre Dame Invitational on Friday afternoon.
Received on Wed Sep 30 22:44:01 2015
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Wed Sep 30 2015 - 22:44:01 EDT