GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -  Calvin advanced to the MIAA Tournament Championship final with a  5-1 MIAA Tounament semifinal victory over Trine Wednesday evening at a rain-soaked Zuidema Field.

 

Ranked #1 by the United Soccer Coaches, Calvin (18-0-1) will host Adrian (11-5-2) in the championship final Saturday night at 7 p.m. at Zuidema Field. The winner will receive the MIAA's automatic bid to the NCAA III Tournament.

 

Calvin will be playing in the MIAA Tournament Championship final for the sixth consecutive year and for the first time against Adrian.

"We're extremely excited to be playing in the MIAA Tournament final and also to be playing at home," said Calvin men's soccer coach Ryan Souders. "We know that we will have our hands full. Adrian has made huge strides as a program. They are a well-coached and confident team that is on a strong run of form. We will need to be ready for a hard-fought match."

In its victory over Trine Wednesday night, Calvin grabbed a 2-0 lead on goals by sophomore Dillon Weldy (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) and senior Matt Hinds (Frankenmuth, Mich./Frankenmuth HS). 

 

Weldy scored in the 21st minute on a through-ball pass from senior Derek Williams (Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS). Hinds then found the back of the net three minutes later as he toe-poked a shot home after a double-header assist from senior Francisco Noyola (East Lansing, Mich./Lansing Christian HS) and junior Trent Vegter (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS).

Trine (5-7-6) cut the deficit in half on a penalty kick goal by Chris Clemens.

Just over three minutes later, Hinds put Calvin back up by two goals with a strike from 25 yards out the curled just inside the far post. The goal was the third of the season for Hinds and allowed the Knights to take a 3-1 lead into halftime.

In the 61st minute, junior Jacob Witte (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) broke free through the right wing on a pass from sophomore Hunter Olson (Canton, Mich./Canton HS). Witte made no mistake in slotting the bal past the Trine goalkeeper to give the Knights a 4-1 lead. The goal was the ninth of the year for Witte.

Freshman Shaeffer Smith (Columbus, Oh./Worthington Christian HS) completed the scoring by tapping in a squared pass by sophomore Ian Adams (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) in the 70th minute of play. The goal was the sixth of the year for Smith with Adams chalking up his sixth assist of the year on the play.

Calvin finished the game with a 21-2 shots at goal advantage. Senior Nate Van Ryn (Grandville, Mich./Calvin Christian HS) and junior Luke Schepers (Holland, Mich./Holland Christian HS) combined on the victory in goal for the Knights with Van Ryn going the first 81 minutes and Schepers the final nine.

"I was very pleased with our effort against a determined Trine team that is on the rise," said Souders. "We did a good job of sticking to our game plan despite the weather and we finished our chances. At this point of the year, any win is a great win."

In Wednesday's other semifinal game, host Adrian defeated Hope 2-1 to advance to Saturday's title tilt.