As regular season play winds down, Calvin continues to move up, recording a 6-1 conference victory over Olivet (5-11-0, 3-7-0 MIAA) this afternoon. With the win, Calvin (10-4-2) remains in sole possession of first place in the MIAA with an 8-1-1 league record. 

Head coach Chris Hughes says the Knights' "offensive presence is on a roll, building upon the success in the last several games. We are creating and taking advantage of opportunities." The first fifteen minutes of the half alone were enough to verify Calvin's offensive strategy, as Calvin scored three goals within seven minutes. 

In the sixth minute of play, freshman Scott Hooker (Hudsonville/Unity Christian) found the feet of sophomore Michael Holwerda (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian), who was advancing to the far post. Holwerda converted the goal for his seventh of the season. Less than three minutes later, senior Jared Litty (Hudsonville/Hudsonville) chalked up his fourth goal of the year off of a penalty kick with a straight shot to the back of the net to put Calvin up 2-0. 

Hooker drilled in a goal of his own in the 13th minute, making good on a Luke Holtrop (Hudsonville/Unity Christian) shot that deflected off of the keeper and therefore counts as an assist.  

The Olivet offense went on an early first-half offensive attempt itself as sophomore Josh VanWagner scored off an assist by freshman Mike May at 17:37, making the score 3-1. 

Calvin upped the goal count to five in the first twenty minutes of play as senior Nick Capisciolto (Hudsonville/Unity Christian) scored his fourth goal of the season in the 18th minute. Capisciolto received a cross from Hooker in the middle of the box and dribbled toward the far post to get an angle, which caused the keeper to move and allowed Capisciolto a sure shot. The resulting 4-1 score remained at the half. 

In the second half, Calvin continued the offensive surge and increased its lead to five with two goals. The first was Hooker's second goal of the game, Capisciolto returning the favor Hooker had given him with an assist off a free kick. Hooker stood at the far post and flicked in the through-ball to make the score 5-1. 

Following suit, Holwerda made his second goal of the day, his team-leading eighth of the season, ripping an unassisted ball from 20 yards out. Calvin took the 6-1 victory.  

Olivet keeper Ethan Felsing saw 16 shots on goal from the Knights and had 10 saves. Calvin keepers junior Darrin Cline (Grandville/Grandville) and senior Dave Fortosis (West Chicago, IL/Wheaton) split the time in goal, each having one save. After being out for the majority of the season recovering from a head injury, Fortosis is "good to go," said Hughes. "We're excited about getting him back in. It's wonderful to have two very strong keepers ready to go, especially at this point in the season. Both of them did a great job today." 

"Cline's gotten better year by year; he's become aware of his weaknesses and has pretty much eliminated all of them. But like the team, he's still growing and hasn't peaked yet either," Hughes said. 

Even with the success the team has experienced recently, there is room to grow. "We need to be peaking and getting better every game. Now that we're in the second half of the MIAA season, we've got a good read of the teams we've played already. That means we need to anticipate and be smarter than the other team," said Hughes.  

The smart play of today's scoring leaders are further evidence of growth over the course of the season. "Wow," said Hughes when asked to comment on the play of Hooker and Holwerda, who combined for eight shots, four goals, and two assists. "Hooker and Holwerda are really starting to read each other; I can see them looking for each other, being patient, and picking and choosing their shots." 

Calvin's home stand continues for three more games as they host Alma next Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. and will play Albion and Adrian at the Zuidema field on October 27 and 31, respectively.