CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR OCT. 28, 2015
Men's Soccer Clinches Outright MIAA Title With Win at Kalamazoo;
Calvin Goalkeeper Lauded for Sportsmanship in Win at Alma
MEN'S SOCCER
Calvin 2, Kalamazoo 0
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The No. 2 ranked Calvin men's soccer team clinched the outright MIAA regular season title and the top seed for next week's MIAA Tournament with a 2-0 victory at Kalamazoo Wednesday evening.
Calvin overcame a charged up Kalamazoo squad that was playing in front of a Senior Night crowd at MacKenzie Field and still had a mathemetical chance of sharing the league title but only if it claimed a win Wednesday.
Like its first meeting against Calvin, Kalamazoo (11-5-1 overall, 10-3-0 MIAA) pressed the attack in the first half, outshooting the Knights 6-1 over the first 45 minutes. Calvin (17-0-1 overall, 13-0-0 MIAA) scored on its only shot of the half however as sophomore Mitch Stark (South Lyon/South Lyon HS) was able to make a run up the left wing and then slide a pass into the slot that junior Isky VanDoorne (Calgary, AB/Western Canada HS) banged into the right hand corner of the goal. The VanDoorne goal came in the 26th minute and was his fifth of the season while Stark picked up his 11th assist of the year on the play.
Moments earlier, Calvin senior goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos (Markham, Ont./St. Augustine Catholic HS) was able to smother a shot by Kalamazoo's Thomas Bryant after Bryant had broken free with the ball through the right side of the Calvin defense.
Giantsopoulos then came up big on back-to-back shots by Kalamazoo in the 32nd and 33rd minute as he denied a chance by Cal Kirchen with an acrobatic stab and then sprawled to the ground a minute later to cradle a shot by Brenden Groggel.
In the second half, Calvin was able to control possession, outshooting the Hornets 5-3. Senior Sam Hanover (St. Johns/St. Johns HS) gave the Knights a 2-0 lead with senior Taylor Pruis (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) collecting an assist on the play. The goal was the eighth of the year for Hanover.
Giantsopoulos finished the game with four key saves in posting his 12th shutout of the season.
"It was a great win tonight against a very good Kalamazoo team," said Calvin men's soccer coach Ryan Souders. "I don't think we played a great first half but Niko was fantastic in making some brilliant saves to keep them off the scoreboard. I thought we played a much better second half. We we more committed to the way we want to play. We'ver very excited with the result but we also know there's work left to do."
Calvin will close out its regular season on Saturday, hosting Albion at 2:30 p.m. at Zuidema Field. The game will also be Senior Day for Calvin's senior class.
WOMEN'S SOCCER
Longtime Calvin men's soccer coach Dr. Marv Zuidema often stated that the goal of athletic competition is to "play fair, share and care."
In the middle of a hard-fought women's soccer match on Tuesday afternoon between Calvin and Alma at Alma's Scotland Yard, Calvin senior goalkeeper Holly Ellerbroek put Zuidema's words into action.
Just minutes after giving up the tying goal in what was then a 2-2 game, Ellerbroek reached down with a helping hand to aid Alma senior forward Kelly Wilson who was down on the ground with leg cramps.
"There was a play in our box and when the ball went out of bounds, I turned around and she (Wilson) was on the ground," said Ellerbroek who plans a career as a physician's assistant. "I just did what any person would do and helped stretch her leg. I would think that if I was on the ground, someone would do the same for me."
The moment of sportsmanship was caught on camera by Alma free-lance photographer Ralph Echtinaw. It also caught the eye of Alma men's lacrosse coach Michael Kinney who also snapped a photo of the moment and posted it on Facebook with a thoughtful reflection.
"Well today, my faith in people, the athletic spirit and good sportsmanship was restored! " said Kinney after recounting a lack of sportsmanship he had witnessed in a club lacrosse game last weekend. "This picture is of the Calvin College women's goalie stretching out a player. No big deal, right? But the player is an Alma College women's soccer senior forward who had some leg cramps and couldn't get up off the deck after multiple attempts. Without being prompted, the goalie went over to her, grabbed her leg and helped work out the cramp for Kelly (Wilson), one of the best competitors I've seen in my time at Alma. Oh, and the Calvin goalie had just given up 2 goals to make it a 2-2 tie game. Calvin ended up winning in the 2nd OT 4-3, but in my eyes, the score took a backseat to a selfless gesture shown by one competitor to another. This very act, not parents and coaches fighting over a game, should be the norm and not the exception. We play sports because we love the game and we should all take note that IT IS JUST A GAME. I don't know the women's soccer goalie from Calvin College, but she's my hero today and I'll never forget her."
Calvin women's soccer coach Mark Recker has known Ellebroek for several years after coaching her at Holland Christian High School and now at Calvin. Her actions did not surprise him. "That's just Holly. That's the type of person she is," said Recker. "I think just about any one of our players would done the same thing. We play to win but we also aim to play with fairness and sportsmanship."
Calvin's win over Alma allowed the Knights to remain on top of the MIAA standings with a 13-0-1 league record while posting an overall mark of 15-2-1.
Ellerbroek has been a key part of Calvin's success this fall as she has recorded a goals-against-average of 0.73 along with six shutouts. Ellerbroek arrived at Calvin this fall after previously playing for Grand Valley State University. Ellerbroek is playing soccer for the first time since 2013 after undergoing three rounds of open heart surgery. Her story was recently told by Mlive.com and can be found online at: http://www.mlive.com/smallcolleges/grandrapids/index.ssf/2015/10/three_heart_surgeries_later_ho.html#incart_river_home
Received on Wed Oct 28 23:00:09 2015
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