Box Score (Photo Courtesy of Paulson Photography)
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Calvin women's soccer remained perfect in conference play as it defeated rival Hope 2-1 at home on Wednesday evening.
With the win, Calvin remains in a share of first place in the MIAA standings with Adrian at 3-0-0 (9 points) in conference play.
This game started out with each team getting some great opportunities early. Hope (7-3-0 overall, 1-1-0 MIAA) had a breakaway chance in the first ten minutes of the game, but senior Sarah Hoekwater (Hudsonville, MI / Unity Christian) made the save to hold the Flying Dutch back.
Calvin (9-2-0 overall, 3-0-0 MIAA) came right back at Hope with a great chance of its own with sophomore Sophie Mueller (North Muskegon, MI / North Muskegon) getting a good look, but the Hope keeper made the save.
It was a back-and-forth battle through the next 10 minutes with both teams coming close to the first goal of the match. Finally, the Knights broke through in the 25th minute with Kaitlynn Van Laare (Toronto, Ont. / Toronto District Christian HS) scoring off the assist from Mueller to give them a 1-0 lead.
The Knights had a chance to extend their lead just before the half with Van Laare getting past her defender on a breakaway, but it was stopped as another defender came flying in for the stop. Calvin held back Hope in the first half and led 1-0 heading into halftime. The Knights outshot the Flying Dutch 11-4 in the half and had four corners to Hope's one.
Hope had some energy out of the halftime and put the pressure on Calvin right away. The Flying Dutch had a golden opportunity off a great corner kick, but Hoekwater made the save to keep them scoreless.
The Knights started to get back into a rhythm and began to have good possessions on the Flying Dutch side of the field. Just five minutes into the second half, Calvin extended its lead. Sophomore Elizabeth Williams (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) was driving towards the corner and stopped, whirled and fired a curling shot from distance that pulled the Hope goalkeeper back over the goal-line with the ball, giving the Knights a goal and a 2-0 lead.
Calvin had a couple of good chances, but it was a possession battle for most of the second half. It wasn't until the last five minutes of the game where things picked up as Hope finally got on the board in the 85th minute on a through-ball pass.
Less than a minute later, Hope almost tied the game, but Hoekwater made another great save off a Hope header at the near post. The Flying Dutch gained some momentum after the goal, but it was too late as the Knights hold on to win 2-1.
Calvin finished the match with a 19-9 shots at goal advantage. Hoekwater had four big saves for the Knights in nets.
COACHES COMMENTS: "It's huge to get a win tonight," said Calvin head women's soccer coach Emily Ottenhoff who is now 2-0-2 against Hope as a head coach. "Hope is a really good team. We knew going in we would need to play very well to get a result because of the high quality of the opponent and the intensity of the rivalry. Happy for our women to get a big result tonight. Ultimately, we need to get back to work for the next game. Each game is worth three points no matter the opponent or whether it's home or away. We will enjoy this win tonight and get back to work tomorrow."
UP NEXT: The Knights will travel to Saint Mary's on Saturday, October 9 at 6 p.m.
