The Hope College women’s soccer team is the preseason favorite to win the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association title this fall.
Coach Leigh Sears and the Flying Dutch topped the 2016 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll with 10 points and six of eight possible first-place votes. Coaches could not vote for their own teams.
Hope finished ahead of second-place Kalamazoo (22 points, one first-place vote) and third-place Calvin (23 points, two first-place votes). Calvin is the reigning MIAA champion.
The Flying Dutch are bidding for their fifth MIAA championship and second in three seasons. They claimed the 2014 MIAA title.
Hope is coming off a 16-3-3 season in 2016 that saw the Flying Dutch match the third-highest single-season win total in team history. Hope placed second in the MIAA with a 12-1-3 league record and was runner-up in MIAA Tournament.
The Flying Dutch kick off the 2016 season on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 2-3 at the Wheaton, Illinois Classic.
MIAA POLL
| 1. Hope | 10 | 6 first place votes |
| 2. Kalamazoo | 22 | 1 first place vote |
| 3. Calvin | 23 | 2 first place votes |
| 4. Albion | 31 | |
| 5. Alma | 33 | |
| 6. Adrian | 42 | |
| 7. Olivet | 43 | |
| T8. Saint Mary’s | 60 | |
| T8. Trine | 60 |