By JEFF FEBUS

Emily Ottenhoff will never forget her 100^th victory as Calvin head women's soccer coach.

In a nail-biting MIAA Tournament Championship game against rival Hope Saturday afternoon, Calvin was desperately attempting to hold on to a 1-0 lead in the closing minutes. Hope had other ideas, scoring the equalizing goal off a corner kick with 3:31 left in regulation. In fitting fashion, her Knights rose up and scored the winning goal off a laser cross from junior Mikaela Waroway that found senior CeCe McCarthy, pinching in towards goal. McCarthy squeezed off a header in a tight space that found the back of the net with 46 seconds left on the clock.

The McCarthy goal lifted the Knights to the 2-1 win and MIAA Tournament Championship, setting off a wild celebration and jubilant trophy ceremony. When Ottenhoff's milestone achievement was announced moments later, she was swarmed by her players, grinning from ear to ear.

"Definitely far down the list of things on my mind," said Ottenhoff when asked of her thoughts on winning her 100^th game as coach with Saturday's triumph. "At the time you're just focusing on finding a way for your team to fight back and get a win late in an intense atmosphere."

Finding a way to win has been a hallmark for Ottenhoff's teams in her eight years as head coach. Heading into NCAA III Tournament play, she has a career won-loss record of 100-29-13 in eight years that includes six MIAA regular season crowns, five MIAA Tournament titles and five trips to the NCAA III Tournament. She sports a winning percentage of .730. She has been named MIAA Women's Soccer Coach of the Year twice and is a candidate to win the award once again this fall.

A native of Palos Heights, Illinois, Ottenhoff found success as a student-athlete at Calvin, earning four varsity letters in soccer and four more in women's basketball from 2006-2010. As a freshman during the 2006-07 academic year, she was a part of a women's soccer team that went 22-0-1 and reached the national quarterfinals. As a midfielder in women's soccer, she was a part of four MIAA championship teams as well as four teams that reached the NCAA III Tournament. As a senior in 2009, she scored an iconic header goal of her own in a 1-0 second round NCAA III Tournament win over Wittenberg University with her team later reaching the national quarterfinals for the second time in four years. She was later named the MIAA's Most Valuable Player and a Division III All-American. She also squeezed in four years with the Calvin women's basketball team, topping off her career as a starting point guard on a 2010 team that reached the NCAA III Tournament for the second time in four years. She was subsequently presented with the Kay Tiemersma Award later that May, Calvin's highest award given to a senior female student-athlete.

"I chose Calvin as a student-athlete because I knew I would get a great education and grow spiritually but most of all, I wanted to play collegiate sports," she said. "I was blessed as a freshman to have great senior leaders surrounding me right away on the soccer team. They helped open my eyes to what my experience could be as a student-athlete. I really grew during my time as a student-athlete. I found that Calvin was a place that you could do everything at a high level."

Ottenhoff had thoughts of teaching at the secondary education level but began to reconsider her future during her fifth year as Calvin, serving as a student-assistant coach with the women's soccer team. The idea of coaching at the collegiate level became more appealing and she elected to pursue that passion as a grad student at Indiana State University where she served as a grad assistant coach at both Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and later at Indiana State. After completing her master's degree, she accepted a full-time assistant position with a powerful Stevens Institute of Technology program in Hoboken, New Jersey, learning under veteran head coach Jeff Parker.

"It was a long way away from home and it forced me to grow quickly.," said Ottenhoff. "There was a lot of stretching but in a good way. I learned how to be a head coach and recruit. I learned how to develop a program with standards, values and a plan of how to be consistent over time. I also learned how to interact with student-athletes, helping push them to grow and be better."

After five years, she began to look for a program to call her own and opportunities began to emerge. In March of 2018, she had a sitting offer to take over a respected Midwest Division III women's soccer program when Calvin came calling. She was able to put the immediate offer on hold while traveling to her alma mater to interview for its head women's soccer coaching position. The early March stretch proved to be a whirlwind for Ottenhoff. When asked "Why Calvin?" during her interview, Ottenhoff admittedly remembers shedding a few tears as she spoke about what her alma mater meant to her. "I think it was more the stress of everything happening so fast in such a short time that led to that reaction, but Calvin was a very special place and I was just trying to convey what that meant."

Calvin Director of Athletics Dr. Jim Timmer remembers the interview well. "First and foremost, she fit everything we were looking for in a women's soccer coach," said Timmer. "Her love for Calvin certainly came through when she was asked 'Why Calvin? Why Now?' It was a wonderful and genuine way to end her interview."

Ottenhoff was offered the job before departing campus and quickly accepted. Her first two years were foundational seasons. During the Covid-spring of 2021, her program took off, winning the outright MIAA regular season title and subsequent conference tournament crown. The program has not let up since.

Ottenhoff is quick to acknowledge the work of assistant coach Tara (Dyk) Wegner who has been with her all eight years. Wegner, like Ottenhoff is a Calvin soccer All-American, and was a part of Calvin's first MIAA championship and NCAA III Tournament teams in the mid-to-late 1990s. "One of the things I am grateful for is the ability to lean on this program's past success and its players," said Ottenhoff. "Tara has certainly been a part of that as a player and now as a coach. I remember talking with her right from the outset and discussing what we wanted in this program. I'm thankful for that. We have a great women's soccer history. It helps communicate to prospective student-athletes that great things can happen here."

Assistant coach Annette Stromberg joined her staff three years ago and has also played a key role. "Annette agreed to join our program three years ago and her impact was immediate from her attention to detail on the field to her care for our student athletes," said Ottenhoff.  "I am thankful she chose to join our staff and pour herself into the vision we had for the program. She's been a big part of this as well."

Calvin's entire coaching staff has also played a role in her initial eight years.

"I'm grateful that I get to walk to the hallways and rub shoulders with so many other successful Calvin coaches and learn from them and lean on their support," said Ottenhoff. "The daily conversations I have with them are invaluable. They've been a big part of helping me get to where I am as a head coach."

Timmer says that the gratitude extends just as much from the top down. "We're deeply appreciative of Emily's work," said Timmer. "Her ability to connect with student-athletes and get the most out of them individually and as a team is quite remarkable. The speed that she has reached 100 wins is amazing and we are blessed to have her as our women's soccer coach."