CALVIN-NORTH CENTRAL SMUGMUG PHOTO GALLERY - 9-13-23

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Tonight the 21st nationally ranked Calvin women's soccer team welcomed the Cardinals of North Central (Ill.), a team that also received votes in this week's national poll. 

The Knights got out to a quick start when just six minutes into the game they were awarded a free kick inside enemy territory. Senior Liz Williams (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) stepped up and sent a floated ball into the eighteen yard box where an unmarked Mia Judd (Grand Ledge, Mich./Lansing Christian) sent a volley into the back of the net to give Calvin a 1-0 lead.

In the 23rd minute the Knights earned a corner kick. While North Central cleared the initial cross the deflected ball found the feet of a wide open Williams on the right wing. She sent the ball back into the box where freshman Mikaela Waroway (Ann Arbor, Mich./Father Gabriel Richard) was able to flick the ball onward with her head past the arms of the North Central goalkeeper for her first collegiate goal.

Eight short minutes later the Knights defense stripped the ball from a North Central player and moved into a quick counter attack. Fifth year senior Anna Reimink (Winona Lake, Ind./Lakeland Christian Academy) sent the ball into open space down the left flank as senior Sophie Mueller (North Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon) beat her defender and got to the ball first. As Mueller reached the end line she sent a low driven cross in front of the net where Maggie Smith (Flint, Mich./Flint Powers Catholic) was waiting for an easy tap in goal.

While North Central had its chances, junior goalkeeper Kalex Dodge (Leslie, Mich./Leslie) picked up five saves in the first forty five minutes and sent Calvin into halftime with a 3-0 lead.

The Knights kept their foot on the gas when Smith scored her second goal of the night off a corner kick delivery from Williams just five minutes into the second half.

In the 54th minute Reimink collected the ball in the midfield and sent a ball between two defenders for the feet of Waroway. Waroway navigated around the final North Central defender before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner for her second goal of the game.

However, in the 68th minute the Cardinals were able to find a chink in the armor of the Knights defense and grabbed their first goal of the night. This seemed to give the North Central side some momentum as the Cardinals were quick to add two more goals to their total. In the final minutes of the game Calvin packed it in on the defensive end and, despite the late surge from its opponent, was able to walk away with a 5-3 win.

The Cardinals outshot Calvin on the night 24-19 while also clocking more shots on goal with 13 compared to the Knights 9. Williams proved to be a key play maker as she recorded three assists while Dodge finished the night with a career game high 10 saves.

COACHES COMMENT: "That's a really big result for us tonight," said head coach Emily Ottenhoff. "North Central is really good and challenged us for a full 90 minutes. We learned a lot about ourselves tonight and will get back to work tomorrow as we prep for our next match."

UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to take on Chicago at 12:00pm (CST).