GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Tonight the 16th ranked Knights welcomed the Adrian Bulldogs for a MIAA showdown. Calvin went into tonight's match with a 10-0-2 with a 4-0 conference record while the Bulldogs, who sit right behind the Knights in MIAA standings, are 7-3-2 overall and 3-1 in the league.Â
As the match got underway both teams struggled to find their footing on the wet turf in the rainy and cold weather. It wasn't until the 29th minute when Sophie Mueller (North Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon) took advantage of open space as she dribbled into Adrian territory. As defenders closed in she laid the ball off to Kaitlyn Van Laare (Toronto, Ont./Toronto District Christian) just outside the eighteen-yard box. Van Laare showed off some fancy footwork as she spun around a Bulldog defender and calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to put the Knights up 1-0.
Just six minutes later Calvin earned a corner, a place where the Knights have been deadly this season. An arcing ball was sent into the box and bounced through traffic before ricocheting off a Bulldog defender resulting in an own goal by Adrian.
As halftime quickly approached the Knights kept their foot on the gas as they were awarded another corner kick. This one was taken by Lindsay Hart (Midland, Mich./HH Dow) who wasted no time finding the head of Mia Brown (Norton Shores, Mich./Mona Shores) who sent the ball high into the left corner to extend the Knights' lead to 3-0.
As the second half got underway Mueller once again found herself in Bulldog territory with the ball at her feet. She beat a defender just outside the Adrian eighteen-yard box before laying it off to a wide open Mikaela Waroway (Ann Arbor, Mich./Father Gabriel Richard). Waroway squared up to go one-on-one with the Bulldog goalkeeper and put the ball out of reach to make the score 4-0.
The Knights continued to add to their total in the 65th minute when Brown carried the ball through space and sent a rocket from outside the eighteen for her second goal of the evening.
In the 78th minute Adrian was able to get on the board with a goal of its own. However, with just forty seconds left in the game Bri Wade (Norton Shores, Mich./Mona Shores) carried the ball up the left flank before firing off a shot from five yards outside the eighteen to secure the 6-1 Knights win.
Calvin showed dominance all around as it outshot Adrian 31-2 with 14 of those shots being shots on goal. With tonight's win the Knights improved to a 5-0 conference record and a 11-0-2 overall record.
COACHES COMMENT: "I thought we had a really solid performance tonight against a good Adrian team," said head coach Emily Ottenhoff. "I thought we had some good ideas in attack that developed more through the match. We will get back to work tomorrow to prepare for a challenging road match against Trine on Saturday."
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, October 14th when they travel to Trine for a 7PM kickoff.
