GRAND RAPIDS, Mich – The Calvin women's lacrosse team defeated Albion College 15-4 on Wednesday evening at Zuidema Field to advance to the MIAA Tournament Championship for the third straight year.

The contest marked the third straight year that the two teams have met in the MIAA Tournament. In 2015, the Knights won the regular season title, but the Britons were victorious in the postseason tournament championship. Last year, the Knights finished second in the league standings to the Brits, but won the tournament championship in a thrilling contest at Albion.

The Knights entered the tournament as the top seed with an 8-0 MIAA record. Calvin claimed the outright MIAA regular season crown by going 2-0 in the final week of conference play, with decisive wins at Adrian and Trine. This marks the second time in program history that Calvin has gone undefeated in the MIAA regular season.

The fourth-seeded Britons held a 4-4 MIAA mark prior to the tournament.  Despite falling to Hope in its second-to-last game of the season at Hope, Albion responded with a victory over Olivet and emerged from a three-way tie to claim the final spot in the postseason tournament.

"I think we came out strong and played well," said Calvin head women's lacrosse coach Blake Boehm. "We knew that it was going to be a game of possessions and the team that had the ball the most was going to have the most success. Our team relishes in that game plan and we executed it well."

The Knights scored three unanswered goals to set the tone for the game.

Less than five minutes in, junior All-MIAA First Team selection Amanda Davio (Okemos, Mich./Okemos) forced a turnover, which to a goal by sophomore Kelly Pepper (Wyckoff, N.J./Indian Hills) to get Calvin on the board first.

After hitting the post on a free position shot minutes earlier, freshman Emma Verrett (Beaveer, Pa./Beaver County Christian) capitalized on another Olivet turnover, speeding past a cluster of Britons to net Calvin's second goal. Less than two minutes later, Pepper added another goal as her shot, off a pass from sohomore Emma Tilma (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian), trickled in, giving the Knights a 3-0 with 20:44 left in the first half.

Just over 10 minutes into the contest, Albion's Shannon Kahl fed Cassandra Reuschlein for the first Briton goal.

Calvin remained patient on offense as Albion's packed it in in their defensive zone. The Knights were rewarded as Davio capitalized off an assisted by senior Emily Cefaratti (Hinsdale, Ill./Hinsdale). Less than a minute later, junior Emma Hall (Harare, Zimbabwe/Chisipite Senior School) forced a turnover in Albion's zone, scooped up the ground ball and slammed home Calvin's fifth goal. Cefaratti added to the offensive surge with a free position goal.

Calvin sophomore goaltender Ellis Chalfant (St. Louis, Mo./Mary Institute) came up with a big save with just over six minutes remaining before halftime, but Albion's Cait Gaitley found the back of the net shortly after to make it a 6-2 game.

Verrett responded with back-to-back goals for the Knights, including a free position goal, to complete her hat trick.

In the final minute before the break, a long pass set up Gaitley for her second goal. Despite the late goal, the Knights held an 8-3 advantage at halftime.

The Knights controlled the second half, outscoring the visiting Britons 7-1.

Cefaratti earned the first goal of the second half, cutting from behind the Britons' net and converting on a feed by Tilma to rip one into the back of the net.

Four minutes later, Gaitley scored Albion's lone second-half goal, but the Knights responded with another goal as Pepper used a free position attempt to feed a wide-open Tilma.

Cefaratti, named the MIAA Defensive Most Valuable Player, showed her versatility by contributing to the next four goals. During a two-minute span, Cefaratti netted a pair of free position goals and assisted Tilma and Pepper, giving the Knights a commanding 14-4 lead.

With 4:21 left to play, Pepper scored the final goal of the game to seal an 11-goal victory for the Knights.

Cefaratti and Pepper led the Knights' well-balanced scoring effort with four goals apiece. Verrett finished with three goals, Tilma with two and Hall and Davio with one each.

The Knights outshot the Britons 39-12, including 22-3 in the second half. The Knights won 16-21 draw controls, including 13 wins by junior Madeline Baas (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian).

Sophomore goalkeeper Ellis Chalfant recorded five saves in the victory.

"It starts with having the right matchups on defense. Junior Alyssa Gagnon (Minooka, Ill./Minooka) did really well against [Gaitley] and Emma Verrett did really well against [Lauren Wiegand], forcing them into low-angle shots," said Coach Boehm. "Ellis did a good job stopping the shots she needed to stop. A couple times on defensive failures she stepped in and made some key saves."

Calvin will take on rival Hope College on Saturday at Zuidema Field in the MIAA Tournament Championship game. Hope claimed a narrow 12-11 victory over Saint Mary's in the other tournament semifinal on Wednesday night. During the regular season, the Knights claimed a 16-4 victory over the Flying Dutch. Saturday's game time is set for 4 p.m.