The fall leaves are beginning to change, but the Hope College women's soccer team remains the same — in the win column.
The Flying Dutch notched a ninth-straight victory on Saturday on Senior Day at Van Andel Soccer Stadium, defeating Trine University, 2-1, in a matchup of top MIAA teams.
Hope's fourth MIAA league win of the season improved the Flying Dutch's overall record to 9-2-1. Trine fell to 8-4-1 overall and 1-2 in MIAA play.
The win set up a Rivalry matchup between Hope and Calvin, both sitting at the top of the league standings with a 4-0 conference record. The Rivalry comes to Holland on Wednesday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m.
Before the game, Hope honored four seniors: Gabby Chabala (Canton, Michigan / Dearborn Divine Child HS), Carley Wagasky (Grand Haven, Michigan / Grand Haven), Margaret Owsiany (Westerville, Ohio / Westerville Central), and Kendall Robertson (Jackson, Michigan / Western).
"I think today was extra special because it was senior day, and we had a whole team fired up and ready to go, not necessarily focused on getting the win, but playing hard for each other," said head coach Holly Van Noord. "It was evident all day, how the encouragement spread from one person to another and the women were hyped up and ready to play."
An Ainsley Harris goal just under 10 minutes into first half play put the Flying Dutch on top.
Harris (Zeeland, Michigan / Holland Christian), the junior forward, calmly touched the ball into the net after a beautiful cross pass from Owsiany.
A yellow card on a Hope defender put Trine in position for a dangerous free kick just outside of the box, where Francesca Fronczak succeeded in evening the score after a small hesitation kick and deflection from a Hope foot.
The relentless Hope offense continued to drive and challenge the Thunder defense, who stood strong. Back-to-back tries by Hope were poked and knocked away by Trine's goal scorer Fronczak, with junior Lina Rea (Macomb, Michigan / Utica) and junior Claudia Folkert (Ada, Michigan / Forest Hills Central) with attempts on the net.
Rea would quickly have yet another chance in the box spoiled by Trine goaltender and the goal post, as the Hope forward was denied after a diving header off a pass from sophomore Heidi Berkey (Grand Haven, Michigan / Grand Haven).
Sophie Aschemeier, the Trine goalkeeper, had a busy day in net, making nine total saves on 11 Hope shots on net.
Hope outshot the Thunder by a 23-2 margin.
In the sixth minute of the second half, Harris strongly sent in her second goal of the day after a stutter step hesitation of her own that finished in the top right corner of the net.
Hope continued its resilient offensive pressure throughout the remainder of the second half.
The defensive squads of both Trine and Hope put on a show with continuous beautiful plays to keep the score a one-goal game.
A total of 42 players for both Trine and Hope touched the field in the matchup. Both teams used 11 subs.
Van Noord never has to question the level of play throughout her whole team when entering or exiting.
"I am so proud of every single woman on the team, because I truly feel like the work they are putting in practice, and also time on their own, is evident in them staying ready," Van Noord said. "I don't have to question if the level is going to drop off with subs, I just know they are a group of competitors from our first player to our last player no matter what time they get"
Robertson made two saves in net for the Flying Dutch to gather the win, her ninth of the season.
