The rain did not factor into the Hope College men's soccer team's game plan on Tuesday night, as a 4-1 win over Alma College was the conclusion after 90 minutes of play.
There were eight different scoring attempts in the first half before Hope connected with the back of the net for the first time of the night, when sophomore Thomas DeVries (Byron Center, Michigan / South Christian HS) fired one from the middle of the box that rolled past the sprawling Alma goalkeeper. Sophomore Mario Hrvojevic (Lincolnwood, Illinois / Loyola Academy) tallied the assist after sending it midfield to DeVries.
Thirty total shots for the Flying Dutchmen and only five for the Scots was the game-changer at Van Andel Soccer Stadium in the final regular season game.
"Oftentimes our defense are the unsung heroes because it doesn't show as much in the stat line how important they are to the game", said head coach David Blahnik. "For the most part our defense has been pretty rock solid, they work really well together."
Freshman Seth Walters would have many scoring opportunities within the second half, with two coming to fruition. The St. Joseph, Michigan (St. Joseph) native collected his sixth and seventh goal of the season to tally his first two-goal game of his career.
The go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal for Walters was set up by Hrvojevic as he sent the ball with ease through multiple Alma defenders to find Walters right in front of the net, who poked the ball past the Scots' goalkeeper before he could find where the ball was passed to.
"Seth has just been great for us and the guys, even though he's a freshman the guys really respect him and his work rate and the future is very, very bright for him."
Kai Jurgle tallied the assist on the second Walters goal, as the senior from Ann Arbor, Michigan (Skyline) crossed the ball nearly from the corner of the field to a sprinting Walters who then found the back of the net with a flying kick and a now 3-1 lead. Hope's final goal of the night came after some fancy footwork from junior O'lee Olsen (Alto, Michigan / Caledonia) who found Jurgle open for a pass on the right side of the goal. Jurgle patiently found his target and sent a rocket past the Alma goalkeeper.
Alma's goal was on a free kick and tallied by Jack Lockerbie.
The Flying Dutchmen clinched the No. 2 seed in the MIAA Tournament with the win over Alma, receiving a first-round bye in postseason play, and look to the semifinals. Hope will host either third-seeded Trine University or sixth-seeded Olivet College on Tuesday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m.
