Box Score (Photo Courtesy of Paulson Photography)
DUBUQUE, Ia. - Calvin women's soccer advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division lll Tournament with a come-from-behind 2-1 win over the Milwaukee School of Engineering Friday afternoon.
In the beginning of the match, MSOE (16-4-0) had good scoring opportunities against Calvin (14-3-1). One of the opportunities was a breakaway chance, but senior Sarah Hoekwater (Hudsonville, MI / Holland Christian) came out to clear to make the stop.
A few minutes later the Raiders were on the attack and Hoekwater made a diving save. However, MSOE scored shortly after the save on a corner kick as it curved into the upper part of the goal and the Knights trailed 1-0 early in the game.
Calvin struggled to get into a rhythm offensively and MSOE almost put another in the net off a free kick just outside the box, but Hoekwater made another key save. The Knights had an opportunity later in the half with a corner kick, but the Raiders punched it out to stay up a goal.
Calvin found it hard to get many good chances on net the rest of the half as MSOE's defense held strong, it took a 1-0 lead going into halftime. The Knights were outshot 10-1 in the first half and MSOE had four corner kicks to Calvin's one.
The Knights were ready to go in the second half as they came out with energy. They played more aggressively on the offense attack. Elizabeth Williams (Grand Rapids, MI / Grand Rapids Christian) had the best chance up to that point for Calvin as she received it in the box to turn and shoot, but MSOE's keeper just got a hand on it to make the save.
Calvin was relentless on the attack in the second half and finally broke through in the 65th minute. A beautiful through-ball played in by Kaitlyn Van Laare (Toronto, Ont. / Toronto District Christian) to Sophie Mueller (North Muskegon, MI / North Muskegon) resulted in a goal by Mueller to tie the game at 1-1.
Another great chance came moments later for the Knights with Anna Reimink (Winona Lake, IN / Lakeland Christian Academy) dribbling down towards the goal and getting a good shot, but it just missed outside. The Raiders weren't getting anything going offensively and the Knights took advantage.
Calvin was still playing aggressive and with lots of momentum. It paid off towards the end of regulation as Reimink scored a header off a corner kick by Williams to put them up 2-1 with about five minutes left in regulation. The Knights' defense held off the Raiders the remainder of the game and Calvin held on to win 2-1.
This was Calvin's first win NCAA Tournament win since 2015 and the first for Head Coach Emily Ottenhoff.
COACHES COMMENTS: "A tale of two halves for our team," said Head Coach Emily Ottenhoff. "I thought MSOE out competed us in the first half and going into the wind didn't help. We came out much more assertive in the second half and connected passes better, happy that resulted in a goal for us. Huge header from Anna late to seal the game. We know anything can in this tournament. We're excited for another chance to compete and don't take that opportunity for granted."
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action tomorrow as they take on host school Loras at 4 p.m. EST.
