by ross weener

Sports Editor

By the looks of things, competition in the MIAA is going to be tough. Probably as tough as Calvin's 1-0 victory over Albion on Tuesday afternoon. Battling cold, wet conditions, the Knights collected a crucial win to stay in the hunt for the league lead.

The Kalamazoo Hornets sit atop the conference with a perfect 2-0 league record. The Hornets climbed as high as sixth place in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll with a perfect 6-0 record, but have recently dropped out of the NSCAA polls with back-to-back losses to Wilmington College (OH) and Cornerstone University.

With Calvin's 1-0 triumph over Albion, Calvin takes sole possession of second place with a 2-1 mark, setting up Saturday's showdown for first place between the Hornets and the Knights.

The Knights suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 golden goal overtime loss to Hope on last Saturday at the Flying Dutchmen's Buys Field, but Calvin was aided by Hope and Albion playing to a scoreless tie, giving each team a 1-1 record in league play.

On September 24 the NSCAA regional rankings were released and Calvin was not present, although both Hope and Kalamazoo placed. The Flying Dutch are currently ranked 3rd regionally and 19th nationally, while the Hornets garnered a 6 th place showing. The Knights were hurt by a stingy 4-3-2 overall record, although both the ties and two of the three losses came to regionally ranked opponents.

Despite what looks to be a poor record, the Knights are a team that will challenge for the league title--but it will be no cake walk. Having already faced Hope and Albion, the Knights complete their challenging week by hosting Kalamazoo on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Calvin will have to rely on its strong defense and potent offense.

The Knights have only given up three goals in three games of league play due mostly to the stellar goalkeeping of senior Matt Thelen. Thelen has registered an amazing 1.47 GAA (Goals Against Average), picking up 32 saves in 671 minutes.

Calvin's offense is led by junior striker Charles Telep who has garnered three goals, and is the points leader of the team with six points. Sophomore winger Eric Krause has also seen some good time off the bench, and has put it to work, scoring two goals and picking up an assist. Sophomore midfielder Sam DeYoung, with a goal and three assists, has also provided consistent play.

The Knights have scored 17 goals this season, with 10 of them coming from different players.