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Hope College

Scoreboard

#BeStrongBeTrue
0
UChicago UChic (3-1-1, 0-0-0)
1
Winner Hope Hope (3-1-2, 0-0-0)
UChicago UChic
(3-1-1, 0-0-0)
0
Final
1
Hope Hope
(3-1-2, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UChicago UChic 0 0 0
Hope Hope 1 0 1

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Alan Babbitt

Men's Soccer Knocks Off Defending National Champion University of Chicago

O'lee Olsen hustled back on defense to generate one of the Hope College men's soccer team's few possessions against the defending national champions.

Moments later, the Flying Dutchmen turned the junior's quick thinking and nimble feet into one of their biggest goals in recent memory.

Hope converted a rare University of Chicago turnover into an Ethan Jansen goal — the lone score in a 1-0 upset of the third-ranked Maroons Friday night in front of a Van Andel Soccer Stadium crowd of 583.

It was the Flying Dutchmen's first victory against a Top-10 ranked team since 2013 when they knocked off No. 9 University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 2-1, in the first round of the 2013 NCAA Division III Tournament.

"It means a lot for the buy-in to guys doing their job, doing it together and doing it every day," head coach David Blahnik said. "We have a lot of good individual players, and we've had moments of good individual performances. We needed a full 90 minutes of team cohesion on both sides of the ball, and tonight we got that."

The Flying Dutchmen (3-1-2) ended Chicago's 27-match unbeaten streak, providing the Maroons' first loss since the 2021 national semifinals.

Chicago went 22-0-1 last season en route to its first national title. The Maroons are 3-1-1 this season.

On Friday, Chicago outshot Hope by a 35-4 margin, including a 13-2 edge in shots on goal.  The Maroons also maintained possession 70% of the time.

Goalkeeper Daniel Hesselbein (Barrington, Illinois / Barrington Community HS) kept Chicago off the board. 

The junior recorded 13 saves, the most in a shutout win at Van Andel Soccer Stadium. Logan Neil held the previous record of 11 since Oct. 13, 2009, when the Flying Dutchmen defeated Calvin University, 1-0, in double overtime.

Jansen (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Northern) converted Hope's best scoring opportunity with his team-leading third goal of the season and the sixth of his career.

After losing possession outside of Chicago's penalty area, Olsen (Alto, Michigan / Caledonia) gained it back for the Flying Dutchmen and kicked the ball to senior defender Colten Baker (Byron Center, Michigan / Byron Center) just past midfield.

Baker quickly launched a long pass back toward the Chicago net. Atop the penalty area, junior midfielder Thomas De Vries (Byron Center, Michigan / South Christian) took one dribble and dropped the ball off to Jansen on his left.

A streaking Jansen buried a left-footed shot from the left corner of the goal area, rolling it between the Chicago keeper and the right post from 18 yards out.

"Tom brought in all the defenders to him. I was just coming up alongside him," Jansen said. "He played a great ball to me. I saw the far post and just put it in."

The Flying Dutchmen made the goal stand up and earned their first victory against Chicago in three meetings with a complete effort that will not be forgotten, Blahnik said.

"By the way we played tonight, we showed much respect for Chicago," he said. "Seeing them last year and watching their film this year, they're one of the most consistent teams in the country on the field. They don't make mistakes. 

"We also feel like we play with and beat anybody on any given night. But we've got to take it game by game. It's a big win, a big confidence boost. Tons of respect for Chicago. Win or lose, this is the type of game we know will help us in late October, early November."

Hope's next game is Saturday, Sept. 16, at 5 p.m. against Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (Ind.) at Van Andel Soccer Stadium. There is a free team poster giveaway after the game.

 
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