Calvin University

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Tonight the Calvin women's soccer team fell to rival Hope College 2-0 in the MIAA Tournament Final.
 
The Dutch wasted no time getting on the board when they scored the first goal of the game just five minutes into play. Looking to respond, Calvin threw numbers forward and tried to break through the Hope defense. 
 
Their best chance came in the twenty-eight minute when junior Nora Kucinski (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern) had the ball at her feet with some space to work with. With defenders closing in she fired off a shot that looked to be heading towards the top of the net. However, the ball got just a bit too much air under it and went on to hit the cross bar before flying harmlessly out of bounds.
 
Despite Calvin finishing the first half out shooting the Dutch 10-3 it was Hope who still held the lone goal and the Knights headed into halftime trailing 1-0. 
 
In the second half, Hope once again found early success when they scored in the forty-sixth minute to stretch their lead to 2-0. Desperately needing to get something rolling, Calvin focused on maintaining possession while continuing to try and find a weakness in the Hope defense.
 
While junior Vivian Nagelkirk (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian), freshman Ava Steen (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian), freshman Bianca Juncaj (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) and freshman Delaney O'Reilly (Portage, Mich./Portage Central) all recorded shots on goal none of them found home and the Knights ultimately fell 2-0.
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will await to see if they have earned at-large bid to the DIII NCAA Tournament. The bracket will be announced on Monday, November 9th at 11:30 AM on NCAA.com.