(Photo courtesy of Paulson Photography)

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Calvin claimed a share of its second straight MIAA regular season title and clinched the top seed for the upcoming MIAA Tournament with a 4-2 victory over visiting Adrian Saturday night at Zuidema Field.  

With the win, Calvin improves to 12-3-0 overall and to 6-1-0 in the MIAA heading into its MIAA regular season finale next Tuesday.  

The Knights are now three points clear of Adrian and hold a head-to-head tiebreaker advantage over the Bulldogs for the tournament's top seed. 

Saturday's victory helped culminate a celebratory evening that included honoring Calvin's Senior Class at the conclusion of the match.  

The first half featured late half fireworks as the two sides combined for four goals in a span of 10 minutes that leave the match tied 2-2 heading into halftime. 

After a scoreless opening 35 minutes, Calvin broke through for the game's first goal in the 36th minute of play with junior Kayla Beebe (Kalamazoo, Mich./Kalamazoo Christian HS) receiving a back-pass from freshman Talia List (Plymouth, Mich./Salem HS) and firing a shot into the right-hand side of the net.  

Just under three minutes later, List struck for a goal of her own as a ball on the wet pitch bounced off an Adrian defender. List pounced on the rebound and slammed home a shot to give the Knights a 2-0 lead. 

Adrian came right back to stun the Knights with a goal 15 seconds off the ensuing kickoff with Eve Davis slipping a pass through the Calvin backline that Leah Homan was able to slide into the right hand corner of the net with a low hard shot.  

Just over a minute later, Adrian (10-7-0 overall, 5-2-0 MIAA) stunned the Knights again with Davis racing free up the left wing and launching a shot from distance that sailed just under the crossbar to level the match 2-2.  

After holding off the late Adrian surge, Calvin regrouped at halftime and came out with new focus in the second half.  

Two-and-a-half minutes into the second half, sophomore Sophie Mueller (North Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon HS) pounced on a ball in the box, whirled and fired a low hard shot of her own that beat the Adrian keeper and lifted the Knights into a 3-2 lead. 

Mueller gave Calvin more cushion in the 66th minute, taking a well-placed pass from List from the right wing, moving to the center and slamming a shot home from the center of the box to give Calvin a 4-2 advantage. The goal was Mueller's team-leading 15th tally of the season. 

Calvin's defense remained stout the rest of the match as the Knights picked up the massive three points to take sole possession of first place in the MIAA standings. 

Calvin finished with a 24-14 shots at goal advantage. Senior Sarah Hoekwater (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS) finished with four saves in goal. 

Hoekwater was one of four fourth-year seniors to be honored at the conclusion of the match along with Megan Gamrat (Kalamazoo, Mich./Home School), Hailey Niles (Syracuse, NY/Onondoga CC) and senior Kyra Schofield (Bloomfield Hills, Mich./Bloomfield Hills HS). 
 
Fifth-year seniors who were granted an additional year of eligibility this fall due to the Covid-19 pandemic – Emily Orr (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian HS), Jessie Paulson (Plymouth, Mich./Plymouth Christian HS) and Maria VanderLei (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS). 

COACHES COMMENT: "Great to get a huge three points on Senior Night," said Calvin head women's soccer coach Emily Ottenhoff. "Our response in the second half was key. Adrian is a very talented team that can strike at any time. We have to regroup quickly and get ready for another tough one Tuesday night." 

NEXT UP: Calvin will host Kalamazoo Tuesday night at Zuidema Field at 7 p.m. in the regular season finale for both teams.