Playing in front of a standing-room only crowd of more than 2,000 fans at Hope's Van Andel Stadium, Calvin scored two second-half goals to seal the win.

Ranked 12th nationally, the Knights are now 13-2-0 overall and 10-0-0 in the MIAA. With four MIAA regular season games remaining, Calvin is nine points clear of second place Hope and can clinch a share of its eighth straight MIAA regular season crown with a win in any of its final four remaining league contests.

With its victory Saturday night, Calvin also recorded its ninth shutout victory of the season including its third straight. The Knights have now outscored MIAA opponents 35-2 this fall.

Although neither team scored in the first half, both teams had high-quality chances. Calvin senior Travis Vegter (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) came close twice, ripping a shot from the left side of the box in the fourth minute of the game that was saved by Hope goalkeeper Ethan Beswick and later ringing a shot off the goalpost. Calvin sophomore Stephan Hooker (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) also had a header on the break off a feed from Vegter that Beswick made an acrobatic save on.

With just over a minute remaining in the first half, Hope broke loose on a long chip into the Calvin end that forward Cameron Dice was able to collect. Dice broke free through the right side of the box but sent a shot wide of the Calvin goal.

In the second half, Calvin upped its ball possession and broke through for a goal with 27:58 remaining as senior Reed Bowden (Uxbridge, MA/Whitinsville Christian HS) sent a throw-in into the Hope box that senior Sean Broekhuizen (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) was able to collect. Broekhuizen whirled and sent a cross that deflected off the Hope defense right to the feet of Vegter. Vegter made no mistake in whipping in a low-hard shot into the back of the net for his 18th goal of the season and the 62nd of his career.

In the 72nd minute, sophomore Isky VanDoorne (Calgary, AB/Western Canada HS) teamed up with Vegter on a fast-break goal. VanDoorne was able to beat a defender to the ball near midfield with a toe-poke pass to Vegter who quickly created a 2-on-1 situation with the Hope backline. Vegter placed a well-placed ball back to the feet of VanDoorne at the top of the box and with a quick one-touch and a left-footed shot, VanDoorne put the ball into the right hand corner of the net for a 2-0 Calvin lead.

Calvin's defense continued to hold strong down the stretch with junior goalkeeper Niko Giantsopoulos (Markham, ON/St. Augustine Catholic HS) recording one save in gaining the shutout victory.

"I think this win was about commitment for our team," said Calvin men's soccer coach Ryan Souders. "In the first half, Hope stuck to its game plan and did a great job. In the second half, we remained committed to our passing game and finding space up front and Travis and Isky got some really nice goals. Hope has a very good team and a win against them anywhere is huge. To get a win against them in an atmosphere like tonight is even bigger."

Calvin finished the game with a 15-5 shots at goal advantage.

The Knights will host Adrian on Tuesday at Zuidema Field at 4 p.m.