It took just 65 seconds for the Hope College men's soccer team to spark an explosive offensive display on Saturday afternoon at Van Andel Soccer Stadium, setting the tone early in a 7-0 MIAA tournament quarterfinal victory over Alma College.
The Flying Dutch's seven-goal performance tied the MIAA tournament record for the most goals scored by a team in a single game, matching Calvin University's 2016 effort vs. Albion College.
With the win, Hope advanced to the MIAA Tournament semifinals, where the Flying Dutch will face No. 2 seed Albion College on Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 7 p.m. in Albion.
"It is going to be an absolute battle [at Albion]," said head coach David Blahnik after the quarterfinal win. "They're one of the most well-prepared teams, whether its this year or any of the last few years, and that is what it should be at this point, it should be two really strong teams competing for a spot in the tournament final. We know it is going to be a very difficult game, and we'll need to play a full 90. We're excited and really looking forward to the challenge."
Junior Jackson Mindling (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian HS) put the Flying Dutch on the board right out of the gate with a header goal at the 1:05 mark off a setup from senior Evan Tsandes (Park City, Utah / Park City).
Before Alma could regroup, junior Ryker Corstange (Richland, Michigan / Gull Lake) doubled the lead only 42 seconds later, finishing a pass from Mindling at 1:47 to complete a rapid-fire opening salvo.
Shortly after the initial two-goal burst, play was halted for a 30-minute injury delay to attend to a serious injury sustained by an Alma player before the match was able to resume.
"With a difficult injury like that at an early point in the game, it allows us to see that as competitive as we all are, you just have two teams out here that really respect each other and care for one another and respect the game," Blahnik said. "We're thinking of the injured player and hoping he has a quick recovery."
Once play resumed, Hope maintained its pressure in the attacking third throughout the remainder of the opening period.
Senior Seth Walters (St. Joseph, Michigan / St. Joseph) added a third goal in the 18th minute off an assist from Corstange.
Just before halftime, Mindling capped off his strong opening stint by drawing a foul in the box and converting the resulting penalty kick at 40:43 to send the Flying Dutch into the break with a commanding 4-0 cushion. He now has 13 goals of the season and 38 for his career.
The momentum carried seamlessly into the second half.
Senior Josh Weigel (Naperville, Illinois / Naperville Central) struck unassisted to extend the lead to five before Walters netted his second tally of the afternoon in the 66th minute after connecting with freshman Eli Jarrell (Naperville, Illinois / Naperville Central). Walters extended his season total to 15 goals, a career-high, and his career total to 44 goals, the fourth-most in program history and three off the school record held by Jim DeJulia (1976-79).
Late in the action, freshman Jonathan Kern (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) rounded out the scoring to lock in the 7-0 victory.
"When we can execute on the [scoring opportunities] right away, that changes a lot for us," Blahnik said. "The ability for us to have multiple goal scorers scoring in multiple different ways regardless of who is playing or not, is something we feel really good about."
Hope outshot the Scots 32-5 and put 12 shots on target while holding Alma without a goal.
Goalkeepers senior Cooper Hutt (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian) and senior Justin Kuiper (Holland, Michigan / West Ottawa) combined to preserve the clean sheet between the pipes. It was Hope's sixth shutout of the season.
