by Alan Babbitt

A hard-charging Sarah Mikesell made the most of one of the few rebounds the Hope College women's soccer team produced against Elmhurst University (Illinois) on Tuesday night at Van Andel Soccer Stadium.

Mikesell's goal 10 minutes, 40 seconds into the second half lifted the Flying Dutch to a 1-0 victory. 

Hope improved to 4-1 on the season to bounce back from its first loss on Saturday at Knox College (Illinois).

"Tonight was huge for our team," said Mikesell, pictured, the senior forward from Norton Shores, Michigan (Mona Shores HS). "We were pretty disappointed in our road trip on Saturday. With such a quick turnaround, we wanted to work on fighting through games and making sure we ended up with a 'W'. I think we did that the way our coaches wanted us to."

The Flying Dutch edged Elmhurst (1-3) in a close game, despite claiming an overwhelming advantage in possession and shots.

Hope outshot the BlueJays, 34-5. The game remained scoreless until early in the second half.

Mikesell snared possession of a loose ball from Elmhurst goalkeeper MaKenzee Velchek after Velchek could not corral a 40-yard shot on net from Hope's Anna Biebel (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Northern).

Mikesell dribbled around a scrambling Velchek and kicked the ball into the open net for her fourth goal of the season. Mikesell matched her career-high for goals in a single season.

Velchek finished with 14 saves.

Hope goalkeeper Parker Hutchinson needed to make only four saves, but the sophomore from Grand Rapids, Michigan (Forest Hills Northern) came up with a game-saving one in the closing seconds of regulation. 

"It's a win," head coach Leigh Sears said. "We missed too many shots. We took too many bad-quality shots. We should have had more goals. We were giving them away left and right, then you're down to the wire, letting them hang around. That's when bad things happen."

Hope's next match is Tuesday, Sept. 21 at home against the Univerity of Chicago. Kickoff is 5 p.m. at Van Andel Soccer Stadium.