Box Score By Mark DeHaan
HOLLAND - The Knights traveled to Holland on Monday evening for their season finale against the Flying Dutch of Hope College.
After playing with rival Hope for the opening half, the Flying Dutch scored what turned out to be the winning goal seven minutes into the second. The Knights could not recover from the deficit, and Hope added a second with less than ten minutes to play as Calvin fell 2-0.
The Knights opened the game with a number of opportunities on goal. In the 2nd minute of play, junior Paige Capel had a run into the Hope box, but couldn't manage to get a strong shot off as her attempt on frame was saved.
In the 6th minute, sophomore Kailey Jo had a shot that was just high from 20 yards out.
A rip from a Flying Dutch forward in the 32nd minute was saved by Calvin sophomore keeper Emily Lawson.
Capel continue to create opportunities for the Knights with a shot just a minute later, but Hope keeper Kat Dickson was up to the challenge to keep the game scoreless.
At halftime, Calvin held a 7-4 advantage in shots. Lawson made three saves for the Knights in the first half while Dickson made four for the Flying Dutch.
In the 52nd minute, Hope took the lead as Elizabeth Perkins headed in a corner kick to give the Flying Dutch a 1-0 lead.
Capel created an opportunity to respond in the 56th minute, but her shot was right at the Hope goalie.
With ten minutes remaining, sophomore Carly Veenstra had a good look from the top of the box and a chance to even the score, but her ensuing shot was over the crossbar.
The missed opportunity proved costly as Hope doubled its lead in the 84th minute. Flying Dutch forward Nora Kirk pounced on a loose ball in to the box and found the back of the net to put Hope up 2-0.
The Flying Dutch then held the Knights at bay for the remainder of the contest, and Calvin dropped the 2-0 decision.
Hope outshot the Knights 15-10 for the contest. Lawson made eight saves in goal for Calvin.
"I thought we played really sound in the first half, then we got a little chaotic in the second," said head coach Mark Recker. "We stopped seeing each other as supports. Hope created some up-tempo pressure, and we didn't hold the ball when we could have held the ball."
The loss ends Calvin's season at 7-10-2 overall and 6-8-2 in conference play. Hope improves to 15-3-1 and 14-1-1 in the league.
