Denison Advances to NCAA Sectionals in PKs

Soccer can be the cruelest of games. In a match that was controlled through much of the 106 minutes of play by the Denison Big Red, it would be Calvin College and senior Jill Capel that would secure a 1-0 victory for the Knights in double overtime of the NCAA Sectionals.

Capel and the Knights picked an opportune time for their first shot on-goal as Leach Scholten got a long ball out to Capel on a breakaway and was faced with an on-rushing Denison goalkeeper in Liz Gillette. As Gillette came out to challenge, Capel got enough of a foot on the ball that it got past the DU keeper and bounced into the back of the net, sending second-ranked Calvin on to an NCAA Quarterfinal match with Messiah on Saturday.

It was a heartbreaking way to lose such a hard-fought contest but the Big Red have no reason to hang their heads. They were making their second consecutive appearance in the NCAA round of 16 and went toe-to-toe with the unbeaten Calvin College Knights, outshooting them 11-6 while putting seven shots on-goal.

With just 36 seconds left in the first overtime senior midfielder and co-captain Anne Young (pictured) had a scoring attempt that resulted in a save by Calvin goalkeeper Kayla Sulzer. All three of Young's shot attempts were on frame. Junior Jessie Birdwhistell led DU with four shots, three of which were on-goal.

Not only did the Big Red outshoot Calvin, they took six corner kicks on the day while the Knights managed just one.

Capel led Calvin with three shots. Her game-winner marked her 15th goal of the season. Alyssa Bergsma played the first 45 minutes in goal and recorded two saves. Sulzer played the final 61 minutes and made five stops to earn the victory. The Knights extend their unbeaten streak, which dates back to 2005, to 26 consecutive matches. They are 22-0-0 and will face defending national champion, Messiah (18-2-0) at 1 p.m. on Saturday in Rochester to see which team advances to the NCAA Semifinals on Nov. 24 in Orlando, Fla.

Denison's season comes to a close with a 15-5-2 record. Senior members Anne Young, Tammy Hoch, Angela Pitstick, Kristen Matthews and Lisa Nowack leave Denison with 58 career victories, a .721 winning percentage, one North Coast Athletic Conference regular season victory, two NCAC Tournament Championship titles and three appearances in the NCAA Tournament.