An explosive offensive performance by senior midfielder Joel Veldhouse propelled Calvin to a 4-1 victory at non-conference rival Ohio Northern University Tuesday afternoon. Veldhouse collected his first collegiate hat-trick in leading the Knights to the victory over the host Polar Bears including a pair of goals in the first half that helped stake Calvin to a 3-1 halftime lead.
The scoring pace was fast and furious in the opening minutes as the two teams combined for three goals in the first 9:05 of regulation. Veldhouse put the Knights (5-0-1) on the scoreboard first by whipping in a direct kick from 25 yards out just 5:28 into in the match. Ohio Northern (3-3-0) would knot the score on a goal by freshman Jon Rolfe just two minutes later but in the 10th minute of play, Calvin senior Joel Vande Kopple (Grand Rapids Christian HS) was able to rip in a shot off a corner kick by sophomore Nick Capisciolto (Unity Christian HS) with junior Matt Cosnek (Hopewell, PA) also drawing an assist on the play.
Veldhouse then went to work again midway through the first half as he took a feed from sophomore John VanWylen (Grand Rapids Christian HS) and ripped in a shot with just over 16 minutes left in the opening period to give the Knights a two-goal lead.
Veldhouse would provide an insurance goal at the 56:16 mark of the match as he laced in a cross from junior Levi Kool (Holland Christian HS) for his fourth goal of the year and third of the match. Ohio Northern was forced to play a man short for nearly the entire second half as a Polar Bear player was assessed a red card early in the second half.
Calvin finished the match with a commanding 25-9 shots at goal advantage with junior Joe Westra (Grand Rapids Christian HS) picking up four saves in 73 minutes of action while freshman Dave Fortosis (Wheaton, IL) saw his first collegiate action in goal for the Knights and was credited with one save.
Ranked 23rd nationally (NCAA III) and third in the Great Lakes Region for the second straight week, Calvin will prepare to open its MIAA campaign on Saturday when it travels to Tri-State University for a match slated to start at 2:30 p.m. (EDT) and 1:30 p.m. (EST).
