-- Story provided by Calvin University Athletics --
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich- The Knights kicked off their NCAA tournament campaign this afternoon with a 2-0 win over Nazareth.
The two teams met in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, at Carnegie Mellon, the regional host.
The game started out slow as both teams fought to find their footing amidst the gloomy and rainy weather conditions. The first major action didn't come until the 26th minute when the Knights forced the ball deep into Nazareth territory. A crossed ball fell to the feet of senior Emma Thompson (Whitehall, Mich./Whitehall) just outside the six yard box. With defenders quickly closing in, she turned and found junior Sophie Muller (North Muskegon, Mich./North Muskegon) who sent the ball toward the bottom right corner, just past the arms of the diving Nazareth keeper, for the first goal of the game. This marked Mueller's eighth goal this season.
The standout for the rest of the half was the Knights defense. They bunkered in, keeping Nazareth far from the net, and did not allow a single shot in the first 45 minutes.
After the break the Knights were awarded a corner less than ten minutes into the second half. The ball was sent high into the box where a Nazareth defender got a head on it, attempting to clear it. However, it didn't make it far before it found Mueller who sent it back in and Mia Judd (Grand Ledge, Mich./Lansing Christian) was able to deflect it into the bottom left corner to give the Knights a 2-0 lead.
As the rain continued to come down harder the Knights were able to keep up their impressive defensive performance by finishing the game with a shutout. Calvin outshot Nazareth 6-4 with sophomore Kalex Dodge (Leslie, Mich./Leslie) recording two saves on the day for her 16th shutout victory of the season.
COACHES COMMENTS: "Happy to get the win today, there are no easy wins in the NCAA Tournament," says head coach Emily Ottenhoff. "Nazareth played a little different formation than most but we were able to sort it out as the match progressed. We were efficient with our opportunities and that's all it takes sometimes. Tomorrow we'll have the most challenging test of the season. Carnegie Mellon is one of the best in the country and we'll have to be very disciplined to try and get results."
UP NEXT: The Knights will continue their NCAA Tournament run tomorrow afternoon at 3:00 P.M, when they take on regional host Carnegie Mellon.
