The Hope College men's soccer team loved a rainy night.

The Flying Dutchmen celebrated eight seniors, scored early and often, and earned a 4-0 victory against Alma College to seize sole possession of first place in the MIAA on Tuesday night at a rain-soaked Van Andel Soccer Stadium.

Winning for a season-best fourth time in a row, Hope improved to 8-5-2 overall and 4-0-1 in MIAA play. The Flying Dutchmen lead the league alone after Albion College handed Calvin University its first conference loss, 4-3.

Two regular-season games remain in the Orange and Blue's quest for back-to-back MIAA titles.

Head coach David Blahnik was proud of how his team stepped up to the challenge amid the worst weather of the season. Rain came down in sheets throughout the match.

"Here, we attack everything head-on and prepare for the playing conditions. We're going to want to go for it," Blahnik said. "We said it's going to be like this—'Let's make it our night.'"

The Flying Dutchmen did, from the start.

Sophomore Jackson Mindling (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian) struck 3 minutes, 6 seconds after the opening kickoff, finishing from nine yards out by deflecting a shot into the bottom left corner.

It was Mindling's ninth goal of the season. Fifth-year senior Matthew Davidson (Grand Ledge, Michigan / Grand Ledge) recorded the assist.

Senior Seth Walters (St. Joseph, Michigan / St. Joseph) kept it going in the 17th minute, netting the first of his two goals by tapping in a rebound after a shot from junior Josh Weigel (Naperville, Illinois / Naperville Central).

In the 34th minute, sophomore Owen Ceithaml (Holland, Michigan / Holland) scored his first goal of the season directly off his corner kick, giving Hope a 3-0 halftime lead.

Walters struck again in the 58th minute, burying a left-footed shot through heavy traffic from 18 yards out at the top of the box.

It was his 10th goal of the season and his second two-goal performance in three games.

Hope outshot Alma (6-8-2, 0-4-1 MIAA) by a 25-5 margin.

Goalkeeper Daniel Morgan (Holland, Michigan / Holland Christian) made three saves, including a spectacular one-handed leaping stop minutes into the second half.

Before the game, Hope honored its eight seniors: Walters, Alan Alcala, Reece Brown, Caden Chenlo, Russell Ebbert, Grant Hassenrik, Jack McDaniel and Matthew Mrozinski.

"They've been here since Day 1. I love all those guys," Blahnik said. "What's awesome about that group is we have some who play a lot of minutes and get awards, and we have guys who don't. Every single one of them brings tremendous value to the team. We wouldn't win games like this without them, whether they were on the field or not.

"It's been the most fun four years of my coaching life because I've seen these seniors get the program where it is on the field—but more importantly, off the field and in the locker room."

The Flying Dutchmen's next MIAA game is Saturday, Oct. 25, at 7 p.m. at Adrian College.

In the MIAA standings, Hope leads second-place Albion (4-1-0) and third-place Calvin (3-1-1) and Adrian (3-1-1).