It was an epic duel of the fates, destined to go down in Calvin College history. On Saturday, a soccer match pitted the college’s two historic student organizations against each other in a battle royale for pride and glory.
The age-old rivalry between Chimes and student senate reached its embodiment in Saturday’s soccer game at Calvin’s Phi-Chi Field. The first annual Chimes versus student senate soccer game engendered blood, sweat and tears from both teams.
But for student senate, it was mostly tears.
In a stunning display of grit and prowess, Chimes defeated student senate in a 4-2 victory. But the win was not given on a silver platter. The student senators, who were spotted a half hour before the game, started doing warm-ups, resolutely contested the Chimes staff.
“I thought we all fought really valiantly,” said David Kuenzi, student senate president. “I thought that both teams did a great job and put in a lot of effort. I’m really just glad we could make it happen.”
Religion co-editor Nathan Groenewold was the top scorer for team Chimes, scoring a hat trick while striker Connor Sterchi kicked a clear shot by the left goal post scoring against senate-bike-program-director-turned-goalie Joel Altena.
Following a lead taken by Chimes, senate striker Dan Ferrell was able to equalize the game before team Chimes scored the next two goals. Senate’s Kuenzi was able to swiftly score another goal before team Chimes secured the lead with a final goal by Groenewold.
Ryan Struyk, Chimes editor in chief, was happy about the outcome and anticipates that the Chimes staff will continue the winning streak into the future.
“Overall I am so proud of our Chimes staff for never giving up, coming out strong and being aggressive,” Struyk said. “And that’s really what Chimes is all about. I have no doubt that Chimes will continue its streak well into the future. I think that for the long history before this soccer game, Chimes has maintained superiority over senate, and they will continue to do so, except this time on the soccer field.”
Despite the defeat, student senators looked for the positive outcomes of the game. The game was a great bonding experience, said freshman student senator Laura Steele.
In an unforeseen incident of potential friendly fire, Chimes defender Alden Hartopo inadvertently kicked the ball toward the Chimes goal in an attempt to clear it from the goalie box, forcing editor in chief Ryan Struyk to make a courageous dive to make a save, losing a contact lens and suffering a blow to the head in the process.
“Thankfully my cat-like reflexes and amazing hand-eye coordination were enough to stop the ball from entering the goal,” Struyk said in response to the mishap. “I also was proud to sacrifice my well-being and my eyesight in order to make the heroic save that kept us in the game. I look forward to continuing to give my all for Chimes no matter the cost throughout the rest of the semester.”
“Everyone makes mistakes,” Hartopo said. “But without that slow attempted clear, David Kuenzi would have had a perfect shot in a one-on-one encounter with the goalie.”
Hartopo’s aggressive defending skills through clean slide tackles also prevented dozens of potential goals by senate’s strikers.
Student senate vice president Alicia Smit thought that the game was a great way to foster camaraderie between disparate student organizations at Calvin.
“It was a great reminder that sportsmanlike inter-student-org competition still exists on campus,” Smit said.
Regarding the iconic photo (pictured) showing her depleted after the game, Smit said, “I collapsed in defeat because the first thing I could think of was how long Chimes would gloat over this victory.”
Addison Smith, finance chair of student organizations, refereed the game, ensuring that the players followed the rules and avoided unsportsmanlike conduct.
“I felt terribly honored to referee this game,” Smith said. “It was a hard-fought match with two teams who were more passionate than myself.”
The two teams plan to make the Chimes versus student senate soccer game a tradition that continues for many years.
