The stage was set on a summer-like Wednesday evening for the high stakes showdown between the bitter rivals. The Calvin Knights and the Hope Dutchmen were facing off in the final game of their regular season. Unfortunately for the Knights, they ended up falling to their rival Hope, 21-15.
During the match, Hope wasted no time asserting themselves, finding the net three times within the first two minutes of play. Calvin, however, wasn’t about to let the night slip away without a fight. Junior captain Audrey Booher sliced through defenders to open scoring for the Knights, quickly followed by a strike from sophomore Ainsley Gothard, narrowing the gap to one. Hope then went on a surge, leading 7-3 at the end of the first quarter. Freshman Delaney Johnson gave Calvin a boost when she scored back-to-back goals to tie the score 7-7 in the second quarter.
Unfortunately for the Knights, Hope seized the momentum with three unanswered goals to close the half. Calvin continued to battle throughout the second half, trading goals but never able to overcome the deficit. In the end, Hope secured a 21-15 victory. Junior Morgan Bethard led the Knights in scoring with five goals and Booher close behind with four.
The good news? The season isn’t over yet. The Knights will compete in their first-ever MIAA conference tournament next week, which will provide a shot at redemption. But no matter what happens, there’s no doubt: this season was one to be proud of.
Calvin finishes the regular season with an impressive 11-5 overall record, including 5-2 in MIAA play — an enormous leap from last season’s 6-11 campaign.
The turnaround can be credited to focused offseason work and fewer injuries. After last season, the upperclassmen made it a point to lead by example.
“[We decided] we needed to start earlier this year. So everybody on the team was really dedicated, committing to running over the summer, completing wall ball, [which gave us] a higher baseline entering the season,” the team’s only senior, Meghan Chang commented.
Bethard echoed the sentiment, and also talked about how the team has rebounded from some truly terrible injury luck. “Last year we had a lot of injuries. I mean, we had four or five girls with season-ending injuries, and then we had quite a few injuries just sprinkled throughout the season.” This year, the Knights have stayed almost fully healthy.
Before this week, Calvin was undefeated in MIAA play. A heartbreaking 9-8 loss to Trine last Tuesday was followed by this rivalry defeat — but the team isn’t hanging its head.
Despite the back to back losses, the team is confident they have what it takes to go on a run, having rebounded from difficult circumstances in the past.
As the Knights gear up for the MIAA Tournament, there’s no doubt they’ll carry that mindset with them — and perhaps, with another shot at Hope on the horizon, the best chapter of their turnaround story is still to be written.
