The Hope College women's soccer team found its attacking rhythm Wednesday night, striking four times in the opening half to pull away from Illinois Institute of Technology, 4-1, at Van Andel Soccer Stadium.
The Flying Dutch improved to 1-1-1 on the season.
Hope wasted little time breaking open the scoring. With 13:27 remaining in the first half, sophomore Jess Reyes (Rochester Hills, Oakland Christian HS) sent a diving pass ahead to senior Halle Barnard (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford), who buried a shot into the far-left corner and beyond the reach of the Illinois Tech goalkeeper.
The Scarlet Hawks answered shortly after with a strike from just outside the box that goalkeeper senior Clara Feenstra (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville) could not quite reach, evening the match, 1-1.
Barnard quickly restored the Flying Dutch lead, outmaneuvering the Illinois Tech goalkeeper before poking her second goal of the night into the net.
Hope continued to apply pressure and added two more goals before halftime. A corner kick from senior Bri Rose (Hudsonville, Michigan / Unity Christian) sailed to a perfectly placed spot at the back of the box, where freshman Avery Plummer (Traverse City, Michigan / Traverse City West) rose to finish the chance with a header into the back of the net.
The Flying Dutch capped the four-goal first half when Barnard crossed the ball into the middle to find a waiting Alexis Suptela. Suptela, a junior from Palatine, Illinois (William Fremd) fired the initial shot, then collected her own rebound and finished the chance for Hope's fourth goal.
Hope carried the four-goal cushion into the second half and relied on Feenstra to keep Illinois Tech at bay. The goalkeeper made two strong jumping punching saves on dangerous chances throughout the half, helping preserve Hope's 4-1 advantage through the final whistle.
Feenstra finished with five saves.
Hope's next matchup is on Saturday, Sept. 12, as a part of Orange and Blue Weekend, against Carthage College at 12 p.m. at Van Andel Soccer Stadium. The game is part of Orange and Blue Weekend on campus.
