Calvin University

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich - Today the Calvin women's soccer team won in thrilling fashion as a last second goal boosted them to a 2-1 victory over Case Western Reserve. After today's match the Knights improved to a 4-1 record while the Spartans fell to 4-2.
 
The Spartans drew first blood early in the game when they took advantage of a counterattack opportunity in the ninth minute to make the score 1-0. 
 
In the twenty-second minute, the Knights saw their first real opportunity of the match when The Knights earned a corner kick. An arch cross was sent in and after bouncing off several players the ball sputtered out to graduate student Lucy Iverson (Naperville, Ill./Naperville North) on the edge of the eighteen-yard box. She took one touch before firing a shot towards the bottom left corner of the goal which was left wide open by the Spartan goalkeeper. However, at the last second a Case Western defender jumped in front and deflected the ball out of bounds as the score remained at 1-0.
 
Calvin continued to keep the pressure on the Spartan defense as senior Katherine Bergman (Farmington Hills, Mich./Farmington) recorded back-to-back shots in the thirty-second minute and Case Western notched another goal line not long after. In the thirty-seventh minute, Freshman Bianca Juncaj (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) tried her luck off a deflection and that opportunity was also gobbled up by the Spartan goalkeeper.
 
At the end of the half, the Knights still trailed 1-0 despite outshooting Case Western 8-2 with five of those shots being on goal.
 
As the second got underway Calvin finally found the break they had been looking for when junior Vivian Nagelkirk (Hudsonville, Mich./Unity Christian) claimed possession of the ball in Case Western territory. After surveying the field, she sent a beautiful ball over the heads of the Spartan defenders and right to the feet of a streaking Olivia Rawls (Geneva, Ill./Geneva). With the Case Western goalkeeper closing in, Rawls calmly slotted the ball into the bottom right corner and just like that the match was tied at 1-1.
 
The second half was mostly a quiet affair for both squads and neither could find a way to penetrate their opponent's defense. Nagelkirk and senior Mikaela Waroway (Ann Arbor, Mich./Father Gabriel Richard) each had good looks at goal in the eighty-sixth minute but thanks to solid saves from the Spartan goalkeeper the score remained tied.
 
With seconds winding down, the Knights gave themselves one last chance when they earned a throw-in deep on the Case Western side of the field. Calvin quickly got the ball into freshman Maya Thebeau (Cape Girardeau, Mo./Notre Dame Regional) who took one touch around a Spartan defender before sending the ball towards the top of the six-yard box. The ball skipped off the turf, past one Case Western defender and right to the feet of Nagelkirk who redirected it past the arms of the diving Spartan defender to seal the Calvin victory with just fifty-five second left in the match.
 
Calvin finished with seventeen shots while holding Case Western to just four shots. Junior goalkeeper Aubree Lee (Lowell, Mich./Lowell) finished the match with one save.
 
COACHES COMMENTS: "Thought we had a gritty performance today," said head coach Emily Ottenhoff. "Credit Case Western for coming out on the front foot and getting on the board early. They're a good team, and games like this are a great reminder that winning is hard. We've got plenty to improve on, especially becoming more efficient in front of goal. But scoring goals is hard and winning is hard. Happy with our fight and the result. We'll get back to work on Monday!"
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Wednesday, September 23rd when they welcome Chicago for a 7PM match up.