By Mark DeHaan

The Calvin men's soccer team hosted the nationally-ranked Flying Dutchmen of Hope College on Tuesday afternoon. Both teams came in with 2-0 records in conference play and were fighting for an early league edge on their rivals.

Behind four goals from four different players, the Knights claimed a 4-1 victory to stay at the top of the conference table, downing the sixth-ranked Flying Dutchmen despite being down a man for the final 33 minutes of play.

Right out of the gate, Calvin gained an advantage. In the third minute of play, senior Travis Vegter (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) recovered a misplayed clearance at the top of Hope's box and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net for an early 1-0 Calvin lead.

The Calvin lead increased in the 31st minute. Taking a free kick just above the box, senior Sean Broekhuizen (Grand Rapids/South Christian HS) doubled the Calvin advantage with a shot which curled around the wall and slipped past the Hope keeper and into the back of the net.

Ranked 20th in the latest D3soccer.com Top 25 poll, the Knights continued to pounce on their opportunities, and in the 40th minute, Calvin took a 3-0 lead. Junior Nick Groenewold (Oak Brook, IL/Timothy Christian HS) tallied the third goal of the game, knocking in a throw-in from senior Reed Bowden (Uxbridge, MA/Whitinsville Christian HS) just five minutes before half.

At the break, Calvin held a 7-5 advantage in shots, six of which were on frame and three of which found the back of the net.

In the second half, Hope got a goal back in the 57th minute to draw within two. Immediately after the goal, a scuffle ensued in the net, and a Calvin player was given a red card, putting the Knights down a man for the remainder of the contest.

Despite a man disadvantage, the Knights continued to push forward, and in the 75th minute reclaimed a three-goal edge. Bowden picked up his second assist of the match on the goal, making a strong run down the left side of the field as he beat a number of Hope defenders before finding junior Taylor Pruis (Grand Rapids/Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the center of the box who put the ball home.

The Calvin defense then held strong over the remaining 15 minutes, holding the Flying Dutchmen at bay to earn a hard-fought 4-1 win.

Hope College outshot the Knights 16-15 for the game while also holding a 5-4 edge in corner kicks. Junior Niko Giantsopolouos (Markham, ON/St. Augustine Catholic HS) made two saves for Calvin while senior Andrew Claucherty (Sterling Heights/Bishop Foley HS) made three coming in as a reserve.

"We knew it would be a battle. Even if it wasn't a rival it would be a battle, add Calvin-Hope on top of it and it was everything and then some," said head coach Ryan Souders. "Our guys were opportunistic. We jumped on our chances, made the most of them, and goals change games. I'm super proud of the guys who went in and did the job (while being a man down). We asked guys to do different roles than they were used to, but they just fought. Overall, just really proud of the guys today."

The Knights improve to 6-2 and 3-0 in league play while Hope falls to 7-2 and 2-1 in the MIAA.

Calvin now looks forward to Saturday when it travels to Adrian to face the Bulldogs. The weekend matchup is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m.