Hope College

This time, the Flying Dutch men's soccer team emphatically shut down any hope of a Calvin University comeback.

Hope College withstood the Knights' desperate charge after charge on Saturday night in Grand Rapids, holding the nation's highest-scoring team scoreless until the final buzzer sounded. The second-seeded Flying Dutch celebrated a 1-0 victory over 15th-ranked Calvin in the MIAA Tournament championship game that clinched a berth in next week's NCAA Division III Championships.

Hope (13-2-4) also triumphantly snapped a 23-match winless stretch in The Rivalry. The two teams tied six times since the 2013 season, with Calvin winning the other 17 games, including a come-from-behind 3-2 victory on October 17 at Van Andel Soccer Stadium, where the Knights netted the game-winner with less than a second remaining.
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It was a satisfying achievement, senior forward Seth Walters said.

"Every day in training, we just go out and think about games like this. We play for games like this. We go through 6 a.m. lifts. We go through so many things in the off-season training just to do stuff like this, just for these moments right here," Walters said. " I know this meant a lot more for alums than ever; we haven't beaten them in a while. This was just a special moment."

The MIAA Tournament title was the fourth in program history. The Flying Dutch previously won the crown during the 2021 spring season, 2013, and 2011. 

The victory, coupled with Hope's 2-0 victory over No. 9 Calvin in the women's final, gave the Flying Dutch both MIAA Soccer Tournament titles in the same season for the first time in school history.

Head coach David Blahnik relished his team's togetherness and preparation off and on the field this season.

"We haven't had a single player ask to transfer out in five years. We don't have any first-year transfers in, any grad transfers. We have guys who all wanted to come here as 18-year-olds and put in the work together, even if it maybe took a little longer than we liked," Blahnik said. "There's nothing against the other ways of doing it, but I love the way we did it. We have 29 guys who only want to be at Hope for more than just soccer, and we stayed committed even through some of the tough years. We stayed committed to our guys who wanted to be a part of this, and I think in today's world, it's rare to see what we did."

Hope capitalized on an errant Calvin attempt to clear 7 minutes, 50 seconds into the game that ended up as an own goal.

The Flying Dutch did not let Calvin (15-2-2) produce the equalizer despite ramping up pressure during the second half. The Knights outshot Hope 7-3 during the second half and 13-11 for the entire game. Calvin also generated a game-high 10 corner kicks.

Senior goalkeeper Cooper Hutt (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Grand Rapids Christian) posted two saves for the Orange and Blue's seventh shutout this season.

"We just brought it all together for 90 minutes," Blahnik said. "What's funny is this has been our least defensive year in the five years I've been here in regards to statistics, but mostly because we've been more committed to the attack this year. We know we're capable of being one of the best defensive teams in the country, and we just decided to wait until this game, apparently, to put it all together. 

"It was obviously a massive game by Cooper. He was solid. I think the guys obviously were frustrated with how the last game ended with them, and not once did any of them blame a ref or anything else. They all said, 'What can we get better at?' We thought we'd get another chance, and you know what? I'll take that earlier loss all day, if it means we get this win."