Adrian, Mich. - The No. 3 ranked Calvin men's soccer team clinched a share of its ninth consecutive MIAA regular season title with a 5-0 win at Adrian Saturday night. The MIAA title is the 25th overall for the Calvin men's soccer program.

The Knights (16-0-1 overall, 12-0-0 MIAA) were in high gear against the host Bulldogs, firing 23 shots at goal while giving up only six.

Calvin took a 2-0 lead at halftime behind the strong play of senior defender Nick Groenewold (Oak Brook, IL/Timothy Christian HS) who carried the play into the offensive attack. Groenewold gave Calvin a 1-0 lead in the 23rd minute as he carried the ball from the defensive end to the offensive zone and ripped a shot from the top of the box for his sixth goal of the season. Just over two minutes later, Groenewold joined the rush again and chipped a lead pass to junior Stephan Hooker (Hudsonville/Unity Christian HS) who calmly tucked a shot inside the near post to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. The goal was the eighth of the year for Hooker.

In the second half, sophomore Mitch Stark (South Lyon/South Lyon HS) slotted a shot into the corner on a feed from Hooker in the 52nd minute. Stark then set up senior Sam Hanover (St. Johns/St. Johns HS) for a goal in the 61st minute. Calvin completed the scoring in the 73rd minute as sophomore Micah Beard (Otsego/Otsego HS) knocked in his 10th goal of the season, converting a feed from sophomore Matt Hinds (Frankenmuth/Frankenmuth HS).

Senior Niko Giantsopoulos (Markham, Ont./St. Augustine Catholic HS) collected one save in posting his 11th shutout of the season including the 23rd of his Calvin career.

"I was very pleased with our performance tonight. It was a strong team effort," said Calvin men's soccer coach Ryan Souders. "I think the key right now is not taking our foot off the gas pedal. We have a very challenging game coming up at Kalamazoo. Kalamazoo is a tough team that is very well-coached. We will have to be at the top of our game when we travel to their place next week."

Calvin will face Kalamazoo next Wednesday in a game slated to start at 7 p.m. The Hornets currently trail the Knights by six points in the league standings with two regular season games left for each team. Calvin edged Kalamazoo 1-0 in overtime earlier this year.