Calvin's 10-game win streak came to end along with its perch atop the MIAA standings as the Knights suffered a hard-fought 2-1 defeat at rival Hope Wednesday afternoon at the Buys Athletic Complex.
Playing in front of a large and enthusiastic throng, Hope (13-3-3 overall, 9-1-1 MIAA) struck first in the opening three minutes as freshman Patrick McMahon rifled in a corner kick from senior teammate Kevney Dugan to give the Flying Dutchmen a 1-0 lead.
The opening 10 minutes were played at a fever pitch and with 9:29 elapsed, Calvin struck back as senior Joel Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD) cracked in a rebound shot that originally began on a direct kick just outside the Hope penalty box. The Veldhouse goal was his team-leading 13th of the year.
With a strong north wind at its back Calvin (14-5-0 overall, 9-2-0 MIAA) kept up the pressure the remainder of the first half but could not dent the net as the Knights sent a number of shots from in close flying over the Hope crossbar.
Nearly 10 minutes into the second half, Hope changed the complexion of the game as Dugan was able to pounce on a loose-ball at the Calvin 25-yard line and then rip a shot that deflected off the back of a Calvin defender and past Calvin sophomore goaltender Joe Westra (Grand Rapids Christian HS) into the lower left hand corner of the net.
With a 2-1 lead, Hope then got defensive as the Flying Dutchmen packed the box with defenders, thwarting Calvin from any strong scoring opportunities. One of Calvin's best opportunities came on a direct kick from just outside the Hope box with 20 minutes left but a shot off the restart flew high and wide. Sophomore Peter Malefyt (Lansing Christian HS) also lofted a chip into the Hope goalmouth with seven minutes left that was snared by Hope goalkeeper Jacob Hofmeister amid a crowd of players.
Hope finished with an 11-9 shots at goal advantage with Hofmeister collecting one save for Hope and Westra two saves for Calvin which entered Wednesday's game ranked 15th nationally and second in the Great Lakes Region. Prior to Wednesday's game, Calvin had held opponents scoreless for more than 425 minutes.
With the victory, Hope moves into sole possession of first place in the MIAA standings, one point ahead of second place Calvin. The Flying Dutchmen can wrap up an outright MIAA title and an NCAA III Tournament bid with a victory at Albion Saturday. A Hope tie at Albion would also assure the Flying Dutchmen of at least a share of the league crown and the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament. Hope holds a tie-breaker edge over Calvin by virtue of its 2-0 record against third place Kalamazoo while Calvin is 1-1 against Kalamazoo this year.
Calvin will host Alma Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and would need a victory over Alma and an Albion win over Hope to gain the MIAA title.
