In front of a Van Andel Stadium record crowd of 3527, Calvindefeated Hope 1-0 Saturday night to remain in sole possession of first place inthe MIAA standings. The Knights are now three points ahead of second place Trine, four points ahead of third place Olivet and six points ahead of fourth place Hope. With the win, Calvin sweeps the regular season series over Hope for the first time since 1998. It is also Calvin's first win at Hope since 2005 and its first-ever win at Van Andel Stadium. Hope set the early tone with a majority of
possession in the game's opening stages.
Six minutes intothe game, Tarwo Konbloa's long ball sent Nicholas Heyboer into the box, but Heyboer's shot rolled gently into the hands of Calvin Keeper MichaelDolan. Ranked 24th nationally, the Knights (11-3-1overall, 7-1-1 MIAA) got on the board in the 13th minute when junior NickHoltrop drove a strike in from distance, giving Calvin the early lead. Junior Chris Nance earned the next chance, when he got free in the area and put a shot on the near post. But Hope standout Keeper Logan Neil coveredthe post to keep the Knights from extending
their lead.
Later in the half, the Dutchmen countered with two volleys, but each was struck over the crossbar off the feet of Justin Reamon and CamDice, respectively. The score held at1-0 at halftime.
Once again, the Dutchmen came out strong to start the second half. But it was
Calvin with the half's first chance. After an endline pass from junior Chris
Nance, senior Tyler Vegter placed a one-touch shot near postdiving save from
Neil.
Late in the half, Hope began to press for the tying goal. With under a minute left to play Konbloa redirected a shot in the box thatDolan was able to punch wide with a spectacular stab at the last moment. The Dolan save earned Hope one last chance on a corner kick and the Flying Dutchmen nearly struck pay dirt as Hope goalkeeper Logan Neil came all the way up in the box and headed a shot just wide of the goal in the closing seconds.
Hope held a 17-14 shots at goal advantage. Dolan had four saves for the Knights while Logan Neil had two saves forHope.
Calvin returns to action next Wednesday when it hosts Kalamazoo at 4 p.m. with the game kicking off a four-game homestand.
