The Hope College women's soccer team is ready for another round of The Rivalry.
The Flying Dutch traveled to Trine University on Saturday and won 3-0 to set up a first-place showdown at Calvin University on Tuesday, Oct. 14, at 7 p.m. Both Hope and Calvin are 4-0 in MIAA play.
The Orange and Blue have won five matches in a row and are unbeaten in their past eight games, with seven victories and one draw against nationally ranked University of Chicago.
Head coach
Holly Van Noord was proud of her team's focus before and throughout the game at Trine.
"They're a very good team. To come in mentally prepared and work hard from the start of the whistle was our main focus," Van Noord said. "We played in command and were disciplined. We limited their strengths. It was a great 90-minute performance."
Hope (9-2-2 overall) rode
Lina Rea's second two-goal game of the season to quiet the Thunder. The senior from Macomb, Michigan (Utica), scored in each half, raising her career-high total to seven goals.
Rea struck first in the 17th minute with an unassisted goal, scoring from about six yards out after a direct ball into the box landed at her feet.
In the 36th minute, senior
Ainsley Harris (Zeeland, Michigan / Holland Christian) delivered her fourth goal of the season for a 2-0 Flying Dutch halftime lead.
Harris grabbed the ball outside the 18, spun around a defender and took on two more defenders before finishing from 15 yards at the near post.
Rea struck again in the 56th minute, set up by the third assist of the season from junior forward
Halle Barnard (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford).
Barnard crossed the ball to Rea near the post after Hope pressed and created a turnover.
Defensively, the Orange and Blue limited Trine (5-4-2, 1-2-0 MIAA) to nine shots, posting their seventh shutout of the season and third against a league opponent.
Junior goalkeeper
Clara Feenstra (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville) totaled four saves, three of which came during the second half.
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