Hope's soccer teams have a busy first weekend of action with games scheduled for Friday and Saturday (Aug. 29-30).
Hope's soccer teams have a busy first weekend of action with games scheduled for Friday and Saturday (Aug. 29-30).
The Flying Dutchmen will be at home co-hosting with Calvin the Bergsma Memorial Tournament while the Flying Dutch will be traveling to St. Louis, Mo. for a pair of games against Division III opponents.
The Bergsma Memorial Tournament honors the memory of Dr. Calvin Bergsma who died tragically in a car accident during the summer of 2001. A 1967 graduate of CalvinCollege, Dr. Bergsma was a West Michigan urologist who was known as a kind-hearted man who cared deeply for everyone. Dr. Bergsma was particularly close to his friends at both Calvin and Hope . He had family ties to both institutions as his wife Gwen (1968) and son Corwyn (1996) are Calvin graduates while his son Clayton is a 2000 Hope graduate. Clayton was a four-year member of the Hope men's soccer team while Corwyn was a four-year member of the Calvin men's basketball program.
On Friday Hope will host Aquinas while Calvin will entertain Goshen, Ind. in games beginning at 4 p.m. The team will switch opponents on Saturday, Hope hosting Goshen and Calvin entertaining Aquinas in games beginning at 2 p.m.
The tournament started in 2001. Wheaton won the 2007 championship. Calvin's title was in 2006 while Hope has not been championship since 2002.
The Flying Dutch will be playing a pair of first-time opponents in night games at the Washington University Invitational. On Friday the Dutch will play Transylvania, Ky. (6 p.m.) and then Saturday will meet the host Washington University Bears (8 p.m.). The Flying Dutch will make their home debut against Cornerstone on Wednesday, Sept. 3.
MEN'S SOCCER PRE-SEASON OUTLOOK
The Flying Dutchmen will be aiming to be right in the thick of the 2008 conference race while aiming to build on the most successful decade of Hope men's soccer.
A year ago the Flying Dutchmen finished second behind rival Calvin in the standings of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) and posted an overall 13-6-1 record. Through seven seasons of the new millennium the Flying Dutchmen have won nearly 80% of they games (117-34-10) with four conference championships and four appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs.
Coach Steven Smith begins his 19th season at the helm of men's soccer program. He ranks among the winningest NCAA Division III coaches with a career record of 251-85-23.
The pre-season roster includes 20 returning letterwinners, including five players who received All-MIAA honors in 2007. The team returns eight of its top nine scorers.
Tri-captains of the team will be junior Chris Harrison of Plymouth, Minn. (Wayzata HS), senior Kevin McMahon of Grand Rapids, Mich. (Forest Hills Central HS), and senior James Trebilcock of Haslett, Mich. (Haslett HS).
Trebilcock and junior Kevin Bartosek of Traverse City, Mich. (Traverse West HS) were named to the All-MIAA first team in 2007 while Kevin McMahon, senior Mitchell Currie of Fort Collins, Colo. (Fort Collins HS) and senior John Turner of East Kentwood, Mich. (East Kentwood HS) were All-MIAA second team selections. Senior Jack Abe of Naperville, Ill. (Naperville North HS) was an All-MIAA first team honoree in 2006. Trebilcock, Abe and junior Ausable Schwiebert of Chelsea, Mich. (Chelsea HS) were named MIAA players of the week in 2007.
Other returning letterwinners include junior Justin Bailey of Portage, Mich. (Portage Northern HS), sophomore Ross Bailey of Ogden Dunes, Ind. (Portage HS), sophomore Riley Byrnes of Michigan City, Ind. (Michigan City HS), sophomore Ryan Cotter of Zeeland, Mich. (Zeeland East HS), sophomore Daniel Glaser of Ann Arbor, Mich. (Lenawee Christian HS), sophomore Andrew Goorhouse of Caledonia, Mich. (East Kentwood HS), junior John Herbert of Culver, Ind. (Culver Academies), sophomore Andrew Nichols of Traverse City, Mich. (Traverse City West HS), junior Anthony Palazzolo of Warren, Mich. (DeLaSalle HS), and sophomore Aaron Van Andel of Ada, Mich. (Grand Rapids Christian HS).
WOMEN'S SOCCER PRE-SEASON OUTLOOK
Formed around a nucleus of returning letterwinners, the Flying Dutch are in a good position to be a title challenger in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association this fall.
Coach Leigh Sears' will build the team around 19 letterwinners from a team that tied for third place in the MIAA last fall and posted an overall 10-8-1 record. Coach Sears begins her eighth season at the helm of Hope women's soccer. Over seven seasons she had guided the Flying Dutch to two conference championships while posting a 74-52-9 overall record.
The roster of 27 players includes eight freshmen, 11 sophomores, one junior and seven seniors.
Tri-captains of the team are junior Kirsten Kaufmann of Clio, Mich. (Flint Powers HS), senior Sonya Masghati of Naperville, Ill. (Naperville Central HS), and senior Ellen Molenaar of Portage, Mich. (Portage Central HS).
Sophomore Courtney Cook of Grand Rapids (Forest Hills Central HS) and senior Allison Van Beek of Libertyville, Ill. (Libertyville HS) were named to the All-MIAA first team in 2007. Van Beek is a three-time All-MIAA honoree, twice as a first teamer (2006 and 2077) and once on the second team (2005). Cook was named the MIAA defensive player of the week twice in 2007. Ellen Molenaar was an All-MIAA second team honoree in 2006.
The Flying Dutch return the three goalkeepers who in 2007 allowed just 26 goals over 19 games while gaining five shutouts - senior Kelly Schaefer of Fenton, Mich. (Linden HS), sophomore Kelsey Bos of Holland, Mich. (Holland HS) and sophomore Kirsten Bonzelaar of Holland, Mich. (Holland Christian HS).
Other senior returning letterwinners are Kimmy Gordon of Caledonia (South Christian HS), Suzi Knowles of North Folk, Calif. (Ysemite HS), and Sarah Sosolik of Oswego, Mich. (Oswego HS).
Other returning letterwinners include sophomore Emily Baracy of Canton, Mich. (Canton HS), sophomore Mallory Fox of Livonia, Mich. (Livonia Stevenson HS), sophomore Bethany Kicz of Ada, Mich. (Forest Hills Central HS), sophomore Katie Lovinger of Hillsdale, Mich. (Hillsdale HS), sophomore Kara Marsman of Holland, Mich. (Holland Christian HS), sophomore Lauren Miller of San Diego, Calif. (University City HS), and sophomore Kristen Schwenk of Midland, Mich. (HH Dow HS).