GRAND RAPIDS -- With a conference championship hanging in the balance against its longtime rival, the last thing the Hope College women's soccer team wanted was an overtime session.

Midfielder Natalie Curry made sure it wasn't needed.

The senior from Grand Rapids, Michigan (Grandville Calvin Christian HS) knocked in a goal with less than five minutes left in regulation to help Hope claim a 1-0 victory at Calvin College Monday afternoon.

The lone goal of the match came on an assist from her younger sister, Hilary Curry, after a cross into the box from junior Erin Brophy.

"Hilary flicked the ball with her head, and then I was just there and popped it in. It literally was a blur," Natalie Curry said. "We didn't want to go to overtime, especially against Calvin. It was such a relief to get that goal ."

The Flying Dutch earned a share of the MIAA regular-season title with the narrow victory. They share it with Kalamazoo College, who defeated Olivet on Tuesday 3-1.

Both teams finished 12-2-2 in the MIAA standings.

"It's huge," Hope coach Leigh Sears said. "We needed help, and we got help. If we would've taken care of our business we could've done it outright, but I'll take it any way I can get it. It's a grind to play everyone twice, and we're going to turn around and play Calvin again on Thursday."

The Flying Dutch claimed a conference title for the second time in three years. They won it outright in 2014.

"The whole conference season has been up and down and people have been switching spots left and right," Natalie Curry said. "To find out we came No. 1 is pretty awesome. We're excited about it."

Hope outshot Calvin 19-5, and had plenty of scoring chances in the first half. However, the Flying Dutch struggled to find the back of the net against Knights' keeper Brianna Koehn.

"We had eight corner kicks in the first half and didn't capitalize on those," Natalie Curry said. "But we just grinded it out and got what we wanted."

Added Hilary Curry: "We were anxious when it was 0-0, but we knew it would go down to the wire. It was a good Calvin-Hope game."

Hope defeated Calvin 3-0 on Oct. 1, but the rematch proved to be a tougher task.

"We knew they were much improved from the first time we saw them," Sears said. "They have big physical players, so we knew what it would be like. I'm just happy that we put on in at the end. I think we're in a good spot right now."

Hope (13-3-2) and Calvin (11-8-1) will meet for a third time in Thursday's MIAA Tournament semifinals. Kickoff is 7 p.m. at Van Andel Soccer Stadium.

— Dean Holzwarth