HOLLAND, Mich. - Calvin clinched a share of its 15th straight MIAA regular season title with a 3-0 victory at rival Hope Saturday night.  

Calvin improves to 14-2-2 overall and is now 6-0-0 in the MIAA, three points clear of second place Kalamazoo head into its regular season finale next week. With a win over Kalamazoo already in the books, the Knights have now secured the top seed for the upcoming MIAA Tournament.  

Calvin led 2-0 at halftime against the host Flying Dutchmen (10-3-2 overall, 5-1-1 MIAA) thanks to first half goals from juniors Alex Bowser (Canton, Mich./Plymouth HS) and Aguma Muhumuza (Baton Rouge, La./The Dunham School). 

Bowser put Calvin on the board in the 35th minute, redirecting a serve into the by sophomore Oliver Akintade (Lake Forest, Il./Lake Forest HS) inside the near post to give the Knights a 1-0 lead. 
 
Five minutes later Calvin struck again, this time on a well-placed serve into the box by senior Ethan Harvey (Naperville, Il./Naperville North HS) that Muhumuzah met flush on a header, slamming the ball into the back of the net for a 2-0 Calvin advantage. 

Hope pressed for its first goal throughout the second half but the Knights held firm with junior Daniel Wunder (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS) making a pair of saves while holding his line while the Calvin defense continued to get in the way of attacks by the Flying Dutchmen.  

Calvin then capitalized on a counter-attack as senior Mason Smith (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic HS) broke free on goal off a lead pass from senior Sam Twigg (Auckland, New Zealand HS). Smith made no mistake with the chance, firing a shot in the lower left-hand corner of the goal, giving the Knights a 3-0 lead with 5:11 remaining. 

Hope was given a chance to break into the Calvin shutout bid when the Dutchmen were awarded a penalty kick with 3:38 remaining but the spot kick sailed high over the bar, allowing Wunder to keep a clean sheet in goal. 

Wunder finished the match with five saves to post the shutout victory. 

Hope finished with an 11-7 shots at goal advantage. 

COACHES COMMENT: "Such a great result from our guys tonight," said Calvin head men's soccer coach Ryan Souders. "That's a really talented, well-coached Hope side but our guys found ways throughout the night. They were really good in different phases of the game that we talk about and yielded a really important 3 points. It was so great to see all of our guys invested throughout. Also a HUGE shoutout to KnightNation. They were amazing. The support was loud and clear. It was so great to have that support tonight. It will be good to rest after that battle and then prepare for a tough Albion side on Wednesday." 

NEXT UP: Calvin will host Albion next Wednesday in its MIAA regular season finale at 7 p.m.