Box Score By Mark DeHaan
For the second year in a row, the MIAA Tournament Championship went to a penalty kick shootout. The Calvin men's soccer team, after falling in the conference championship last season, was up to the task on Saturday, defeating Kalamazoo College 8-7 on penalty kicks after the game ended in a 1-1 double-overtime tie.
The Knights came out hungry, threatening the Hornets defense early and often.
In the 6th minute, a free kick from senior Travis Vegter (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) deflected off a defender and off the crossbar as the game remained scoreless.
In the 21st minute, sophomore Stephan Hooker (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) played a ball across directly to junior Taylor Pruis (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) who had an open look on net, but a sprawling save by Kalamazoo keeper Beau Prey kept the Knights out of the goal.
Sophomore Isky Van Doorne (Calgary, AB/Western Canada HS) then put the Knights ahead in the 34th minute. A through ball from Vegter put Van Doorne in on goal, and after one touch, Van Doorne struck the ball far post to give Calvin a 1-0 advantage.
Minutes later, Kalamazoo tied the ball game as Cal Kirchen found the back of the net off a corner kick in the 37th minute.
The game remained tied 1-1 until halftime. In the first half, Calvin outshot Kalamazoo 12-4. The Knights also held a 4-2 edge in corner kicks over the opening period.
Out of the break, both teams locked down on defense, and it wasn't until the end of regulation that either team saw threatening chances on frame.
In the 89th minute, Pruis had a header toward goal that was just wide.
A minute later, the Hornets saw an opportunity on goal that was turned aside by junior Niko Giantsopoulos (Markham. ON/St. Augustine Catholic HS).
After 90 minutes, the teams found themselves tied at 1-1.
In the first overtime, Calvin had a chance on goal as time was expiring, but another save was made by Prey and the game went to a second overtime.
In the 106th minute, junior Nick Groenewold (Oak Brook, IL/Timothy Christian HS) had a shot on frame saved by Prey, which was the only shot on goal in the second period. With no team finding the back of the net, the game headed to penalty kick shootout.
In the penalty kick shootout, both teams were strong from the spot, each hitting four of the first five kicks. Moving into sudden death penalty kicks, the teams were even after three rounds, but in the fourth, Giantsopoulos made a save then Groenewold found the back of the net as the Knights won 8-7 in the shootout.
Over the 110 minutes of play, Calvin outshot Kalamazoo 18-10. Giantsopoulos made one save in net for the Knights, while his counterpart Prey made five to keep the Hornets in the game.
"(Kalamazoo) frustrated us for 110 minutes – that is a very, very good soccer team," said head coach Ryan Souders. "I thought that from one to 26, our guys played really well and were committed to making sure that our name will show up in the NCAA Tournament. I'm going to sleep a whole lot better tonight and tomorrow night now that our name will be somewhere in the bracket (on Monday). We're excited to be dancing."
With the win, the Knights claim the MIAA's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Tournament. The field for the national tournament will be announced on Monday at 1:30 p.m.
