The Hope College women’s soccer team is the preseason favorite to win the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association title after topping the 2017 preseason coaches poll.
Coach Leigh Sears and the Flying Dutch lead a group of nine MIAA teams with 54 points.
Hope received four of eight possible first-place votes. Coaches could not vote for
their own teams.
The Flying Dutch are coming off a 15-4-2 season in 2016 in which they claimed a share
of the MIAA regular-season title and won the MIAA Tournament.
Hope advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the fifth time in team history.
The Flying Dutch kick off this season on Friday-Saturday, September 1-2 in Milwaukee
with matches against Milwaukee School of Engineering and Lake Forest, Illinois, respectively.
Hope’s MIAA opener is Wednesday, September 6 at Albion.
MIAA POLL