GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Tonight the Calvin women's soccer team welcomed the Comets of Olivet for its first MIAA matchup of the season. The Knights entered today's game ranked 19th in this week's United Soccer National Coaches Poll with a record of 6-0-2.

It didn't take long for the Knights to strike as they gathered the ball of the left flank and sent a cross into the box. The ball bounced between several defenders before Elie Farrell (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) stepped in and punched the ball into the bottom right corner to give Calvin a quick 1-0 lead.

It was only a minute later when the Knights gathered possession late in Olivet territory. Sophomore Mia Brown (North Shores, Mich./Mona Shores) took advantage of the field position and sent a cross into the middle where Kaitlyn Van Laare (Toronto, Ont./Toronto District Christian) settled it. Van Laare took a touch around the approaching defender and saw an opening as she sent a rocket past the diving Comets goalkeeper to add to Calvin's lead.

The Knights kept the pedal to the metal in the 23rd minute as Farrell gathered a loose ball on the right side of the field and found Liz Williams (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) just outside the eighteen yard box. As soon as the ball hit her foot Williams spun around and fired off a shot that soared into the top left corner to extend the Knight lead to 3-0.

After a dominant first forty five minutes Calvin headed into halftime outshooting the Comets 21-0 while also earning 13 corners.  

In the second half the Knights kept the momentum rolling as just ten minutes into the half Williams found sophomore Lucy Iverson (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) on the end of a corner kick to tally another goal. Eight minutes later Williams showed off some fancy footwork as she flicked the ball over a Comet defender and hit a volley from far beyond the eighteen yard box for her second goal of the evening.

In the 67th minute sophomore Grace Weaver (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian) got in on the goal scoring action when she received a cross from Bri Wade (Norton Shores, Mich./Mona Shores) and sent a shot ricocheting off the bottom of the cross bar into the back of the net. Despite the 6-0 lead, the Knights continued putting pressure on Olivet and once again caused a defensive break down when Carley Curry (Dexter, Mich./Dexter) found a wide open Katherine Bergman (North Farmington, Mich./Farmington) who sent the ball high into the left corner for another Calvin goal.

The Knights rounded out their scoring for the evening in the 80th minute when Maggie Smith (Flint, Mich./Flint Powers Catholic) crossed the ball to Weaver who netted her second goal of the evening to bring the final score to 8-0.

The Calvin defense remained strong as it did not allow Olivet to have a single shot on goal during the contest. However, the Knights themselves finished the evening with 39 shots, 25 of which were on goal.

COACHES COMMENTS: "Very pleased with our performance tonight," said head coach Emily Ottenhoff. "I thought we were sharp and moved the ball quickly. It was great to see a lot of different combinations of people on the field. Back to work tomorrow to prepare for another important conference match on Saturday."

UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, September 30th when they travel to Alma to play the Scots at 11:00AM.