Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Hope College

Scoreboard

#BeStrongBeTrue
Seven men's soccer seniors pose for a photo with their families on the field.
Lynne Powe
0
Adrian ADRIAN (10-2-2, 2-2-2)
5
Winner Hope HOPE (13-1-2, 5-0-1)
Adrian ADRIAN
(10-2-2, 2-2-2)
0
Final
5
Hope HOPE
(13-1-2, 5-0-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Adrian ADRIAN 0 0 0
Hope HOPE 1 4 5

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Alan Babbitt

No. 16 Men's Soccer Shuts Out Adrian on Senior Day, Will Play for MIAA Title Next Week

The 16th-ranked Hope College men's soccer team capped One Big Weekend on campus in a humongous fashion.

The Flying Dutchmen won a showdown with 10-win Adrian College, 5-0, on Senior Night on Saturday at Van Andel Soccer Stadium and earned a chance to play for an MIAA regular-season championship next week.

Hope (13-1-2) will play at Trine University on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at 7 p.m. The winner is the league champion and will earn the top seed for the MIAA Tournament. Both teams are 5-0-1 and have clinched first-round byes after Trine played to a 1-1 draw at Kalamazoo College on Saturday.

It was a satisfying Senior Night, head coach David Blahnik said.

"We don't get to the point of the season where we are with the rankings and all the other stuff without the seniors," said Blahnik, whose team honored its seniors prior to the game. "I couldn't ask for a better day. Now we've got to get work for an opportunity to win a league championship on the road."

Three seniors scored goals for the Flying Dutchmen. Three more seniors each recorded assists.

Two more seniors teamed up in goal for Hope's eighth shutout of the season.

"That's what you dream for as a coach. You dream for a situation and a day like today where certain players have the opportunity to showcase themselves," Blahnik said. "That happened today as a result of their hard work and their teammates' work. You can see the excitement of their teammates, and how happy they were for them. They deserved it."

Senior Cole Pauly (Mundelein, Illinois / Mundelein HS) assisted on the game-winning goal during the 36th minute.

Pauly's nimble feet in the box set up sophomore Michael Dietz (Eaton Rapids, Michigan / Eaton Rapids) for a header that put the Flying Dutchmen on the board. It was Dietz's first collegiate goal.

Hope broke open a close game by scoring four times after halftime, including three times during the final 11 minutes. Adrian dropped to 10-2-2 overall and 2-2-2 in MIAA play.

In the 67th minute, senior Thomas De Vries (Byron Center, Michigan / South Christian) struck for the first of his two goals.

Sophomore Micah Wieland (Bristol, Illinois / Northridge) set up De Vries by dribbling right along the end line toward the left post before centering the ball for DeVries.

DeVries scored again in the 80th minute off an assist from fifth-year senior Jake Lyon (Marshall, Michigan / Marshall). DeVries now has four goals on the season and 15 for his career.

Pauly joined the fun by striking for his first goal of the season with 1:08 remaining. Earlier in the game, Pauly had hit the right post and crossbar on scoring attempts. Freshman Ryker Corstange (Richland, Michigan / Gull Lake) had his first collegiate assist.

Senior Ben Bush (Spring Lake, Michigan / Spring Lake) set up Hope's final goal with 44 seconds remaining. Freshman Jackson Mindling (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian) finished the pass with his 11th goal of the season.

Mindling and junior Seth Walters (St. Joseph, Michigan / St. Joseph) shared the team lead with 11 goals on the season.

The Flying Dutchmen outshot Adrian, 31-3. Senior Daniel Hesselbein (Barrington, Illinois / Barrington Community) made one save in 80 minutes of action for Hope. Senior Keegan DeKuiper (Norton Shores, Michigan / Mona Shores) did not face a shot over the final 10 minutes.

Blahnik credited his senior class that, including Matthew Davidson (Grand Ledge, Michigan / Grand Ledge), Mario Hrvojevic (Lincolnwood, Illinois / Loyola Academy) and Matt Wimmer (Farmington Hills, Michigan / Detroit Jesuit) persevered through a coaching change four years ago and other challenges.

The Flying Dutchmen have a league championship within their reach because of their seniors, Blahnik said.
 
"It's a credit to them as men of integrity and hard-working guys," Blahnik said. "They've had to adjust to different things. Every single one of them has shown resilience, worked hard and represented themselves and Hope well on and off the field. They've been great teammates."
 
Gallery: (10-26-2024) Men's Soccer vs Adrian

 
Print Friendly Version