Halfway through the conference season, the Calvin women’s soccer team finds themselves in a good position to go after the conference title. With two wins this week against Olivet and Hope, the Knights moved into second, still trailing Alma by two points.
The Olivet Comets came in hoping to slow down the dominant offense of the Calvin Knights. The Knights were able to create six shots in the first 20 minutes, but the Comets were able to keep them out of the goal.
The Knights were determined to earn the victory, and in the 22nd minute, Paige Capel found Danielle Carter, who was able to slot a shot in the bottom right corner, giving the Knights their first goal of the game.
Carter acknowledged the team effort that was required to score and win: “We try to emphasize being selfless and working for each other, so we want to make sure we are in the right position for our teammates.”
The attack came in full force after that as the Knights scored three more goals in the half. The rest of the game went smoothly for the Knights as there were no shots on goal for the Comets and Kelly Koets added two more goals for the Knights.
The Knights then took to the road to the Van Andel soccer complex in Holland to face Hope. The two teams shared second in the conference at this point, neither team wanting to share the spoils of victory.
The game turned into a very balanced duel, with both teams putting a total of five shots on goal. Hope held the lead going into the half on a finish off a rebound in the 25th minute.
The Knights knew it would be a competitive game, but they were not going to settle for a loss or a draw. Capel found space from 20 yards out and leveled the score in the 52nd minute.
The two teams continued to battle back and forth until Sydney Kinney found Capel on a corner to give the Knights the lead. Hope attempted to get even, but the Knight defenders prevailed and took home the three points, pushing them into second place.
The Knights look to continue playing in good form as they take on the conference leaders at 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 8.