GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's soccer team took down the Flying Dutch of Hope College to claim its third straight and ninth overall MIAA Tournament Championship.
 
The match got off to a hot start as both teams immediately started creating chances offensively. In the 33rd minute, Cecilia McCarthy (Yipsilanti, Mich./Father Gabriel Richard) headed the ball forward into the eighteen-yard box. Freshman Kiah Nichols (Hastings, Mich./Thornapple Kellogg) got on the end of it but her shot was deflected by the charging Dutch goalkeeper. Luckily for the Knights, the ball fell to Shay Norden (Norton Shores, Mich./Mona Shores) and she buried the ball in the wide open net to give Calvin the lead.
 
In the second half, senior Sophie Mueller (North Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon) carried the ball down the left wing in the 52nd minute. Just before reaching the endline, she cut back towards the center of the field, leaving a Dutch defender behind. She took two more touches before sending an arcing ball into the top right corner of the goal to extend the Calvin lead.
 
Less than ten minutes later, Mueller added to her goal total when she once again beat two Hope defenders on the left side of the field. This time, when the goalkeeper expected her to go high again, she slotted the ball into the bottom left hand corner to make the game 3-0.
 
The Knights rounded out their scoring in the 64th minute when senior Lindsey Houtsma (Grandville, Mich./Calvin Christian) found Liz Williams (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian) in the middle of the field. Without even taking a settling touch, Williams sent a one-time screamer past the diving goalkeeper into the top left corner of the goal.
 
Down the stretch, despite having chances, the Calvin defense remained tight. When the final whistle blew the Knights celebrated the 4-0 win and yet another MIAA Tournament Championship.
 
Calvin outshot the Knights 12-11 while Knights goalkeeper Kalex Dodge (Leslie, Mich./Leslie) recorded five saves.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "I think our group came out on the front foot this game," said head coach Emily Ottenhoff. "We came focused and ready to go. It's not always easy to score in these games so getting one in the first half was big for us. I thought we connected passes well and showed a collective team effort tonight. Very, very proud of this group." 
 
UP NEXT: After winning the MIAA Tournament Championship the Knights received the automatic bid to the NCAA DIII Tournament. Calvin will await to find out their opponent until Monday when the NCAA DIII Women's Soccer Selection Show airs at 2PM.