GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin University women's soccer team welcomed the Bears of Washington University for what would prove to be a defensive battle. Coming into today's game the Knights were ranked No. 22 in the nation while the undefeated Bears sat on top at No. 1.
 
In the first half, it quickly became clear that the Calvin defense would have its work cut out for itself as the WashU attackers surged forward at every opportunity. Senior goalkeeper Kalex Dodge (Leslie, Mich./Leslie) was peppered with shots and came up with several key saves to keep the score at 0-0.
 
On the other end of the field, Sophie Mueller (North Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon) and Katherine Bergman (Farmington Hills, Mich./Farmington) tried to get the Calvin offense rolling as they both recorded shots. However, the Bears defense would not budge and the two teams headed into halftime neck-and-neck.
 
In the second half, the Knights had their best scoring opportunity of the evening when the ball found a wide open Elie Farrell (Wheaton, Ill./Wheaton Warrenville South) on the right wing. She carried the ball forward and into the eighteen-yard box before firing a shot that looked to be headed directly for the bottom left corner of the goal. Unfortunately, the WashU goalkeeper was able to stretch just far enough to make the save as the score remained 0-0. 
 
Back on the defensive side of the ball the Bears had a golden opportunity when they were awarded a corner kick in the 52nd minutes. As they sent a bending ball in, Dodge was able to get a hand on it but was unable to clear it. Amongst several bodies the ball looked to be heading into a wide open net before Mia Judd (Grand Ledge, Mich./Lansing Christian) stepped in to make the goal line clearance. 
 
For the rest of the match the Bears continued to try and slip behind the Calvin defense but the Knights remained strong until the final whistle blew. Washington outshot the Knights 29-7 but thanks to Dodge's career high eleven saves Calvin settled for the 0-0 tie against the top-ranked team in the nation.
 
COACHES COMMENT: "I'm really pleased with the effort that our team put in today," said head coach Emily Ottenhoff. "WashU is undoubtedly No. 1 in the country. They are so good and they play really hard and today we learned how to match that and proved that we can be right there with a top team. We're expecting another really hard game on Saturday against Ohio Northern. They are regionally ranked so we're going to take the next few days to prepare and are excited about the opportunity to play another good team."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, September 28th when they travel to take on Ohio Northern at 1:00 PM.