By Mark DeHaan

The Knights hosted Alma College in the first game of an important three-game home stand on Friday afternoon. Calvin, entering at 4-0 in MIAA-play and in first place, is slated to play Kalamazoo on Tuesday and Hope on Thursday next week at Zuidema Field.

Alma entered Friday at 2-2 in league play. The Knights were also nurturing a five-game win streak.

The Scots were the first to score in Friday's game, netting a goal just over two minutes in.

The Knights responded as junior Carolyn Forbes found the back of the net less than a minute later, followed by another Forbes goal to see Calvin take a 2-1 lead.

Back-to-back goals from the Scots saw the visitors pull ahead 3-2 with 21:30 to go in the first half.

After trading goals, Calvin scored four straight, two from sophomore Emily Cefaratti and two from senior Karissa Reed, to build a 7-4 advantage.

Alma scored one more before the end of the half as the game went into the break 7-5 in favor of the home team.

Calvin outshot the Scots 19-5 in the opening half. The Knights also held a 9-4 advantage in draw controls, while Alma had 13 ground balls compared to Calvin's 11.

In the second half, the Scots scored the opening two goals to pull even at 7-7 with 19:47 to go.

The Knights answered with two of their own, capitalizing on a pair of man-up opportunities.

Alma responded with one goal to bring the score to 9-8 with 11:22 to go, but Calvin's defense clamped down after that.

Senior Lindsey Ryskamp scored two timely goals for the Knights with senior Paige Noordyke adding another, and the Knights held the Scots scoreless the remainder of the game to claim a 12-8 victory.

Calvin outshot Alma 33-17 for the contest while also holding a 31-23 ground ball advantage by game's end. The Knights forced the Scots into 14 turnovers and were 12-for-13 on clear attempts.

Individually, Forbes and Reed both had three goals, with Reed also tallying an assist. Cefaratti and Ryskamp each contributed two goals.

Ashton Street had three goals and one assist to lead Alma.

"They were locking down our typical goal scorers (in the second half), so when that happens we have to have our other offensive players step up, and they did so today," said head coach Blake Boehm. "(Looking ahead) for us, it's about us and what we can improve on, and right now that's shooting accuracy. We have to be diligent in transitions, too."

Calvin improves to 8-5 overall and 5-0 in the MIAA, sitting atop the conference as the only team with an undefeated record. The Knights also push their win streak to six. Alma falls to 3-9 and 2-3 in league play.

Calvin returns to action next Tuesday, hosting Kalamazoo College. The Knights and Hornets are scheduled to face-off at 5:00 p.m.