A dramatic sudden-death overtime goal allowed Calvin to record a thrilling 1-0 in double overtime victory over visiting Kalamazoo College Tuesday afternoon atthe Calvin Field. The victory allowed Calvin (15-1-1 overall, 10-1-0 MIAA) to remain three points behind league-leading Hope (11-0-0 MIAA) which also needed overtime on Tuesday to beat Albion 3-2. 

Calvin defeated Kalamazoo 1-0 earlier this season at Kalamazoo, giving the Knights their first season sweep of the Hornets since 1999. 

A furious Kalamazoo effort nearly kept the Knights from achieving that accomplishment however until Calvin sophomore David Holwerda (Grand Rapids Christian HS) was able to deliver the game-winning goal, his third of the year. Holwerda's "golden goal" came with just 3:57 left in the second overtime as he slid a low shot past a charging Kalamazoo goalkeeper with senior Joel Veldhouse (Sioux Falls, SD) setting up the play with an assist. 

"I was ready for it," said Holwerda who has scored all eight of his goals this fall of the bench. "I was going to make sure I cleaned it up." 

Holwerda's goal marked the only shot for either team in the second and final overtime. 

The play was set up by a crossing pass by Veldhouse which originally was intended to be a shot on goal. 

"I was thinking I was going to be the one to score," said Veldhouse with a grin. "My pass was actually a lucky bad shot that went right to David." 

Both teams finished with 11 shots at goal but eight of Kalamazoo's shots were on goal, forcing Calvin goalkeeper Joe Westra [Grand Rapids] to make eight saves including a pair of key stops in the final minute of the first overtime when the Hornets had back-to-back breakaways on goal. Kalamazoo goalkeeper David Antzcak had three saves for Kalamazoo (7-8-0 overall, 5-5-0 MIAA) in goal. 

"It was a good game - a hard fought battle," said head coach Chris Hughes. "If you hope to contend for a championship, you have to find a way to win games like this." 

Hughes also gave credit to the Hornets. "They pushed us to the limit and I tip my hat to them," said Hughes. "They made us dig down deep in order to beat them. Their effort was outstanding." 

Calvin is currently 17th in the latest Division III National Poll and has now recorded 13 shutout victories - a new Calvin single-season record. 

Westra has been a part of all 13 Calvin shutouts and now has a goals-against-average of 0.39 which ranks among the top 10 netminders in NCAA III men's soccer. 

"The boys are getting smarter - they're finding options," said Hughes. "I think a lot of it comes with the maturity of the players and the game."