On a crisp Saturday afternoon at Van Andel Soccer Stadium, the Hope College men's soccer team delivered a captivating performance on Senior Day at Van Andel Soccer Stadium, a triumphant 4-1 victory over Kalamazoo College.
Before the game, the Flying Dutch honored nine seniors: Cooper Hutt (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian HS), Josh Reyes (Rochester Hills, Michigan / Oakland Christian), Evan Morrison (Canton, Michigan / Canton), Micah Wieland (Bristol, Indiana / Northridge), Josh Weigel (Naperville, Illinois / Naperville Central), Evan Tsandes (Park City, Utah / Park City), and Zach Risley (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Kalamazoo Central).
"Today was an awesome day to be a Hope Soccer Fan. What an incredible crowd we had today to help us celebrate our seniors and I am very proud of our team for delivering on a great performance for everyone," head coach David Blahnik said. "It was another great result due to the entire team with quality execution of our game plan from start to finish in all phases of the game. I am happy any time we score — they all count the same — but it's fun when we score multiple high quality goals like we did today."
On the field, the Flying Dutch put on an offensive showcase, firing off 22 shots and orchestrating fluid movement across the pitch to earn the conference win.
Hope remains in fourth place in the MIAA standings at 3-2-1. Calvin is in first at 5-0-1, Albion in second at 4-0-2, and Kalamazoo stays in third with a 4-2 record. Hope has a single regular season game remaining on Tuesday, October 27 on the road at Alma College at 4 p.m.
The fireworks began just nine minutes into play when junior Jackson Mindling (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian) gathered a pass right outside the box, spun on a dime to escape his defender, and unleashed a laser into the far left corner of the net for his ninth goal of the season
Hope carried that momentum straight into the second half, doubling the lead 48 seconds into play, as Mindling struck again his 10th goal of the season—breaking through the backline to latch onto a surgical pass from junior Ryker Corstange (Richland, Michigan / Gull Lake) before coolly slipping past the stranded keeper.
Kalamazoo clawed back into the match at the 50 minute mark when goalkeeper Hutt challenged in the box and caught a defender's foot, allowing Brody Plumstead to bury the resulting penalty kick and cut the deficit to 2-1. The tension was short-lived, however, as Hope turned it up a level.
On Hope's third goal, a curling corner kick found freshman Eli Jarrell (Naperville, Illinois / Naperville Central), who flicked a header across the face of the goal for senior Seth Walters (St. Joseph, Michigan / St. Joseph) to punch into the back of the net. Walters matched his career-high with his 12th goal of the season. He has 41 career goals.
The final blow came at the 58 minute mark when Weigel carved up the defense and laid off a perfect ball in the box for Corstange, who smashed it home to cap off the 4-1 win.
Hutt recorded three saves between the posts.
"It's been great getting back to the form we had early in the season of scoring multiple goals in consecutive games," Blahnik said. "We have a great group to work with every day, and I am really proud of our senior class for the leadership they have shown this season and will continue to show going into the final weeks of the season."
