Box Score By Mark DeHaan
The Calvin men's soccer team advanced to the MIAA Tournament Championship for the third straight season with a win in its semifinal matchup on Wednesday afternoon.
Hosting fourth-seeded Alma College, the Knights scored a goal in each half while holding the Scots scoreless to claim a 2-0 victory.
Calvin pressured Alma College early, and in the 20th minute, the Knights took the lead. A bullet from sophomore Isky Van Doorne (Calgary, AB/Western Canada HS) was too hot for the Alma keeper to handle, and the rebound bounced off a Scots defender and into the back of the net for a 1-0 Knights lead.
In the 25th minute, Calvin had another scoring chance. Senior Sean Broekhuizen (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) re-directed a long throw-in onto frame that deflected off the crossbar and was cleared by the Alma defense.
Despite a number of other shots, the Scots kept Calvin within a goal, and at half, the Knights led 1-0.
In the first half, Calvin outshot the Scots 9-8.
The Knights nearly doubled their lead out of the break. Sophomore Stephan Hooker (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) took a rebound in the Alma box but blasted the ensuing shot off the crossbar, the second time in the game Calvin had been denied by the woodwork.
Alma began to press the Knights back line midway through the second half. A couple of dangerous balls made their way into the Calvin box, but junior keeper Niko Giantsopoulos (Markham, ON/St. Augustine Catholic HS) was up to the task, turning away a shot in the 62nd minute to keep the Scots off the board.
With Alma continuing to press, Calvin doubled its lead in the 88th minute on a counterattack. Senior Travis Vegter (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) made a run along the end line then passed the ball into the middle where Hooker was by himself. Tapping the ball into the bottom right corner of the goal, Hooker sealed a Calvin victory as the Knights moved on to the finals with a 2-0 win.
Calvin outshot the Scots 18-11 for the game. Giantsopoulos made three saves in net to earn the clean sheet, the 14th shutout of the season for the Knights.
"Sometimes it is just a matter of getting away with a result – it's playoff time. Alma was well prepared and played committed, and I give them a ton of credit," said head coach Ryan Souders. "At the same time, I give our guys a lot of credit. We continued to bend but never broke, Niko made a couple of great saves, and then we were able to finish a couple of chances to get the win."
Calvin improves to 18-2 overall, and more importantly, advances to the MIAA Tournament Championship on Saturday. Alma's season ends at 8-8-3 overall.
The Knights will face Hope/Kalamazoo on Saturday as the Flying Dutch/Hornets defeated the Flying Dutch/Hornets Wednesday night. The Championship game will be played at Zuidema Field, with opening kick set for 2:30 p.m.
