by Lenny Padilla

Sarah Mikesell had her leg wrapped in an ice pack after the game on Saturday. It might be the only way to cool off the Hope College senior's hot season. Mikesell (Norton Shores, Mich. / Mona Shores HS) had two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win over Kalamazoo College on Saturday in the first round of the MIAA Tournament.

"It's huge," Mikesell, pictured left, said of the win. "Kalamazoo has knocked my class out of the MIAA the last two years. That's something we talked about at the beginning of the season that we weren't going to let them do that to us again."

The Flying Dutch improved to 12-4-1 and advanced to play at Albion College in Tuesday's semifinals. Hope beat Kalamazoo 3-0 just a week ago. 

"It feels amazing," said Hope freshman Margaret Owsiany (Westerville, Ohio / Westerville Central HS). "I think we all played well as a team. We were excited to play today and we got the win."

Cassidy Broekhuizen (Byron Center, Mich. / South Christian HS) scored just three minutes into the game to give Hope a 1-0 lead. It was the first goal of the season for the junior and just the second of her career.  

"Cass has been knocking on the door the past few games," said Mikesell, who got the assist. "And we talked about getting in behind (the defense), because that's her strong suit. She's really fast. I knew she was due to score."

Kalamazoo evened the score at 1-1 on a goal by Kai Ketola with 28 minutes left in the first half. Mikesell broke the tie when she scored with 37 minutes left in the half on a nice pass from Anna Biebel. Biebel (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Forest Hills Northern HS) came off the bench and was instant offense. The sophomore assisted on both Mikesell goals. 

"Beebs is just a spark on offense any time she comes on the field," Mikesell said. "I was really proud with the way she played today."

Those were the first career assists by Biebel in 20 career games. 

Mikesell is left-footed and it isn't much of a secret around the MIAA. So it was a shock to see her score in the second half off of her right foot. 

"The last few weeks I have gotten some coaching from Elliott (Slenk), our assistant coach," she said. "He's incredible. He has tasked me with being confident and taking shots with my right foot. So we practiced that and it came out perfectly."

Owsiany is just glad that Mikesell is on her team.

"She's huge every game," Oswiany said. "She's amazing. She delivered when we needed her most."

Mikesell has a team-high 13 goals and six assists.

"She's so technical," Hope coach Leah Sears said. "Everyone knows she's left-footed but she can still get the shot off. She scored one with the right foot, so if she trusted herself more, she could score more right-footed. She's just a good player."

Hope College goalkeeper Isabelle Bertolone (Muskegon, Mich. / Muskegon Catholic Central HS) was huge in net again.The senior has only played four games all season, including starts in her last three. And Hope has won all three games. On Saturday, Bertolone made seven saves. Hope had seven shots on goal to eight for Kalamazoo.

The Hope College women's soccer team will play Albion College on Tuesday, November 2 in the MIAA Tournament Semi-Finals.