CALVIN KNIGHT SPORTS REPORT FOR MAY 3, 2017 (Part Two)
WOMEN'S LACROSSE
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich - The Calvin women's lacrosse team defeated Albion College 15-4 on Wednesday evening at Zuidema Field to advance to the MIAA Tournament Championship for the third straight year.
The contest marked the third straight year that the two teams have met in the MIAA Tournament. In 2015, the Knights won the regular season title, but the Britons were victorious in the postseason tournament championship. Last year, the Knights finished second in the league standings to the Brits, but won the tournament championship in a thrilling contest at Albion.
The Knights entered the tournament as the top seed with an 8-0 MIAA record. Calvin claimed the outright MIAA regular season crown by going 2-0 in the final week of conference play, with decisive wins at Adrian and Trine. This marks the second time in program history that Calvin has gone undefeated in the MIAA regular season.
The fourth-seeded Britons held a 4-4 MIAA mark prior to the tournament. Despite falling to Hope in its second-to-last game of the season at Hope, Albion responded with a victory over Olivet and emerged from a three-way tie to claim the final spot in the postseason tournament.
"I think we came out strong and played well," said Calvin head women's lacrosse coach Blake Boehm. "We knew that it was going to be a game of possessions and the team that had the ball the most was going to have the most success. Our team relishes in that game plan and we executed it well."
The Knights scored three unanswered goals to set the tone for the game.
Less than five minutes in, junior All-MIAA First Team selection Amanda Davio (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) forced a turnover, which to a goal by sophomore Kelly Pepper (Wyckoff, N.J./Indian Hills) to get Calvin on the board first.
After hitting the post on a free position shot minutes earlier, freshman Emma Verrett (Beaveer, Pa./Beaver County Christian) capitalized on another Olivet turnover, speeding past a cluster of Britons to net Calvin's second goal. Less than two minutes later, Pepper added another goal as her shot, off a pass from sohomore Emma Tilma (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), trickled in, giving the Knights a 3-0 with 20:44 left in the first half.
Just over 10 minutes into the contest, Albion's Shannon Kahl fed Cassandra Reuschlein for the first Briton goal.
Calvin remained patient on offense as Albion's packed it in in their defensive zone. The Knights were rewarded as Davio capitalized off an assisted by senior Emily Cefaratti (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale). Less than a minute later, junior Emma Hall (Harare, Zimbabwe/Chisipite Senior School) forced a turnover in Albion's zone, scooped up the ground ball and slammed home Calvin's fifth goal. Cefaratti added to the offensive surge with a free position goal.
Calvin sophomore goaltender Ellis Chalfant (St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute) came up with a big save with just over six minutes remaining before halftime, but Albion's Cait Gaitley found the back of the net shortly after to make it a 6-2 game.
Verrett responded with back-to-back goals for the Knights, including a free position goal, to complete her hat trick.
In the final minute before the break, a long pass set up Gaitley for her second goal. Despite the late goal, the Knights held an 8-3 advantage at halftime.
The Knights controlled the second half, outscoring the visiting Britons 7-1.
Cefaratti earned the first goal of the second half, cutting from behind the Britons' net and converting on a feed by Tilma to rip one into the back of the net.
Four minutes later, Gaitley scored Albion's lone second-half goal, but the Knights responded with another goal as Pepper used a free position attempt to feed a wide-open Tilma.
Cefaratti, named the MIAA Defensive Most Valuable Player, showed her versatility by contributing to the next four goals. During a two-minute span, Cefaratti netted a pair of free position goals and assisted Tilma and Pepper, giving the Knights a commanding 14-4 lead.
With 4:21 left to play, Pepper scored the final goal of the game to seal an 11-goal victory for the Knights.
Cefaratti and Pepper led the Knights' well-balanced scoring effort with four goals apiece. Verrett finished with three goals, Tilma with two and Hall and Davio with one each.
The Knights outshot the Britons 39-12, including 22-3 in the second half. The Knights won 16-21 draw controls, including 13 wins by junior Madeline Baas (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian).
Sophomore goalkeeper Ellis Chalfant recorded five saves in the victory.
"It starts with having the right matchups on defense. Junior Alyssa Gagnon (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) did really well against [Gaitley] and Emma Verrett did really well against [Lauren Wiegand], forcing them into low-angle shots," said Coach Boehm. "Ellis did a good job stopping the shots she needed to stop. A couple times on defensive failures she stepped in and made some key saves."
Calvin will take on rival Hope College on Saturday at Zuidema Field in the MIAA Tournament Championship game. Hope claimed a 12-11 victory over Saint Mary's in the other tournament semifinal on Wednesday night. Saturday's game time is set for 4 p.m.
MORE WOMEN'S LACROSSE
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - The Calvin women's lacrosse team had six players named to All-MIAA teams on Wednesday. The six players ties a program record that was set in 2015. The Maroon and Gold had three players named to the All-MIAA First Team and three named to the All-MIAA Second Team. Emily Cefaratti was named the MIAA Defensive MVP by the MIAA coaches. The Knights finished the MIAA season with a perfect 8-0 record and had a MIAA record two shutouts. The Calvin defense only allowed 31 goals, the fewest in the eight-game era.
"I'm extremely proud of these individuals for achieving such high honors within the conference," said Calvin head coach Blake Boehm. "Each of them has worked tirelessly throughout this season to play their best lacrosse. They understand that by executing at a high level, they contribute significantly to the team reaching it's goals. These players will be the first to tell you that these are team awards. They have been elevated by their teammates and would not have been recognized without the support of their team."
Emily Cefaratti
A senior from Hinsdale, Illinois, Cefaratti was named the MIAA Defensive MVP. She is the first Calvin women's lacrosse player to be named an MIAA MVP. Cefaratti has been named to an All-MIAA team all four years and has been on the All-MIAA First Team the last three seasons. She is the second MIAA player all-time to score more than 100 MIAA goals. She finished the MIAA season with 40 points, tallying 28 goals and 12 assists. She led the league with 11 free position goals. Cefaratti caused 21 turnovers in MIAA play and had 25 ground balls. Against Kalamazoo, she scored her 200th career goal at Calvin. This year, she has been the MIAA Offensive Player of the Week three times and the MIAA Defensive Player of the Week once. Cefaratti finishes her MIAA career as the all-time points leader with 149.
Madeline Baas
A junior from Grand Rapids, Michigan, Baas is being named to an All-MIAA team for the third-straight season and to the All-MIAA First Team for the first time. Baas led the MIAA with 75 draw controls. She also recorded a goal and an assist in MIAA play, as well as five ground balls.
Amanda Davio
A junior from Okemos, Michigan, Davio is claiming All-MIAA First Team honors for the third-straight year. She finished the MIAA scoring race in fourth place with 24 goals. Davio had seven assists to finish with 31 points. She also caused seven turnover, collected 19 ground balls and had five draw controls.
Kelly Pepper
A sophomore from Wyckoff, New Jersey, is on the All-MIAA Second Team for the second-straight year. Pepper had the fourth-most points in the MIAA this season with 23 goals and 13 assists. She also recorded six ground balls and caused four turnovers.
Jaimie Van De Burg
A freshman from Lowell, Michigan, Van De Burg is being named to the All-MIAA Second Team for the first time in her career. She helped anchor one of the strongest defenses statistically in MIAA history and helped seal two shutout victories. She finished eighth in the MIAA with 26 draw controls, and scored eight goals and four assists.
Emma Verrett
A freshman from Beaver, Pennsylvania, Verrett earned All-MIAA Second Team honor for the first time. Verrett did it all for the Knights in 2017 and finished MIAA play with 17 goals and four assists. She also has 12 ground balls, five draw controls, and caused eight turnovers.
MORE WOMEN'S LACROSSE
On Wednesday, Calvin College senior Emily Cefaratti was named the MIAA Women's Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year. Earlier this week, Jeremy Crawford caught up with Cefaratti and filed the following feature story on her career: http://calvinknights.com/sports/wlax/2016-17/releases/20170503m0h178
Received on Wed May 3 23:05:51 2017
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.8 : Wed May 03 2017 - 23:05:51 EDT