Prior to Saturday's matchup with second place Kalamazoo, Coach Chris Hughes said his team needed to find its momentum earlier, even as soon as the whistle blows each half. 

Today, Calvin's league-best offense scored seven minutes into the game and 18 seconds into the second half to seal a 3-0 win. The win puts Calvin six points ahead of Albion, Hope and Kalamazoo in the MIAA standings. Albion defeated Hope 1-0 in overtime on Saturday to create a three-way tie for second place in the MIAA standings. 

"It's a good win, anytime you're going against a solid team like Kalamazoo it feels good," Hughes said. 

Nick Capisciolto (Hudsonville/ Unity Christian) put Calvin up 1-0 with a penalty kick goal in the seventh minute. The penalty came after Dan Van Slyke (Grove City, PA/ Trinity Christian) was tripped up in the box after a run down the sideline. 

" VanSlyke had a great game on the outside for us," Hughes said. "That's where we're trying to build some of our game [on the outside]. I'm really trying to perfect that first 15-25 minutes of the game.  If we can get our game established early, it's going to be huge." 

Just 18 seconds into the second half, Michael Holwerda (Grand Rapids/ Grand Rapids Christian) sprung from the midfield line on a break away to give Calvin a more comfortable 2-0 lead. 

"It feels good when you're putting the ball in the net and some of our offensive players are really stepping up," Hughes said. "Michael Holwerda is feeling it right now; he's feeling pretty good about his game right now." 

Calvin's defense has also been stepping up, having allowed a league best two goals. 

A big reason why, last week's MIAA Player of the Week Darrin Cline (Grandville/ Grandville) who saved a Kalamazoo penalty kick with 34 minutes remaining in the game. 

"As the other team shot the ball I was pretty relaxed knowing Cline was probably going to get something on the ball and he did and it makes a coach feel good," Hughes said. Heading into the game, Cline was ranked 15th in the nation with a .440 goals against average. 

Kalamazoo struggled to gain any offensive momentum and any chance the Hornets had to score was dampened when a Kalamazoo player was issued a red card, forcing the Hornets to play a man short. Heading into the game, Kalamazoo was second in the league in goals scored and goals allowed. 

"We tried to stay disciplined this game," Hughes said. "Kalamazoo plays a style of soccer where they try to take you out of what you're good at and they did that a little bit in the first half and we were reacting to it. In the second half we just tried to stay with what we're good at and the goals were going to come." 

Luke Holtrop (Hudsonville/ Unity Christian) blasted a Kurt Van Sickle (Grand Rapids/ Forest Hills Northern) cross into the net to seal the victory in the 87th minute. Calvin advances to a league best 7-1-0, while Kalamazoo and Hope both fell to 5-3-0 tied for second place with Albion who beat Hope. 

The Knights have now won seven straight games by a combined 19-1 since falling 1-0 at Kalamazoo in their conference opener. Calvin is at Hope on Wednesday with a scheduled 4pm start time. Calvin beat Hope 1-0 in Grand Rapids earlier this season.