Box Score ADRIAN, Mich. – The Calvin women's lacrosse team won the MIAA title on Tuesday at Adrian with a 16-5 victory. The Knights have now won two of the five MIAA regular season titles, with the first coming in 2015. Calvin is 7-0 in the MIAA and holds a head-to-head tiebreaker over Saint Mary's and Hope, who both have only one loss in the MIAA. Adrian falls to 4-2 in MIAA action. This is the seventh MIAA title for Calvin College in the 2016-17 school year.
"I'm extremely proud of everything this team has accomplished this season," said head coach Blake Boehm. "Winning the MIAA title is the icing on the cake. We played well today, and had a lot of players step up and take charge. Kelly and Emma balance each other well at attack - they are really starting to click. At the draw, Maddie has really found her groove and is excelling at earning those possessions for us. Defensively, we played fast and aggressive against an athletic Adrian offense, and Ellis made the key saves we needed to keep our momentum. Our midfielders are the thoroughbreds of this team and approach the transition game with speed, intensity, and great field vision. We've got one more regular season game this Saturday, so we'll be back to work tomorrow getting ready for Trine."
The Knights jumped out to an early 6-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game. Sophomore Emma Tilma (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) got the scoring started with a goal 52 seconds in. Junior Amanda Davio (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) then scored off a pass from Emma Tilma. Freshman Emma Verrett (Beaver, Pa./Beaver County Christian) found the back of the net to make it a 3-0 game. At the 22:52 mark, sophomore Kelly Pepper (Wyckoff, N.J./Indian Hills) scored her first goal of the game. Emma Tilma scored the next two goals in the game.
Calvin closed the first half on a 5-1 run. Amanda Davio, sophomore Grace Einfeld (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), Kelly Pepper, Emma Verrett, and senior Emily Cefaratti (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale Central) all scored a goal to close the half.
The Maroon and Gold went into halftime leading, 11-2.
Kelly Pepper scored the first two goals of the second half.
17 seconds after the Pepper goal, Emily Cefaratti scored her second goal of the day.
Cefaratti would strike again three minutes later to make it a 15-2 game.
"It is an amazing feeling to mesh so well with these girls," said Cefaratti. "This is a great achievement, but we still have a lot we want to accomplish and need to stay focused. I am very honored to be a part of this team. I couldn't think of a better group of girls to end my college career with."
Adrian would chip into the Calvin lead in the final six minutes with a 3-1 run; Kelly Pepper scored the lone Calvin goal.
Kelly Pepper led all players on Tuesday with a career-high eight points, on five goals and three assists. Emily Cefaratti and Emma Tilma both finished with three goals.
Junior Madeline Baas (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) dominated on Tuesday, finishing the game with 13 draw controls. Emma Tilma finished with seven ground balls.
Junior Alyssa Gagnon (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) caused a career-high four Bulldog turnovers
Sophomore Ellis Chalfant (St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute and St. Louis Country Day School) tallied four saves in her ninth victory of the season.
The Knights outshot the Bulldogs on Tuesday, 38-13.
Calvin closes the regular season on Saturday at Trine.
Sophomore Alyssa Oezer (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) won her second MIAA title in 2017. Oezer was a part of the swimming & diving team that won its 13th straight MIAA title in February.
"Winning a conference championship is always exciting," said Oezer. "Having the opportunity to be on two championship teams has been amazing and I'm so glad that I get to represent Calvin College in the pool and on the field."
Calvin joins Adrian as the only two-time MIAA regular season champion. The Bulldogs won the first two titles in 2013 and 2014.
The Knights will host the MIAA Tournament and the No. 4 seed in the tournament, next Wednesday.
