The Hope College men’s soccer team is aiming to build on a successful spring season and challenge for a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship this fall.
The Flying Dutchmen, who won the MIAA Tournament last spring, finished first in the 2021 Fall MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll with six first-place votes and nine points.
The preseason poll for MIAA men's soccer awards one point for a first-place vote, two points for a second-place vote, etc. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own programs.
Calvin University earned the other two first-place votes to place second in the preseason poll with 12 points. Third-place Kalamazoo College tallied 21 points to edge fourth-place Trine (23 points). Albion College recorded 33 points for fifth place and followed by Alma College in sixth with 36 points. Adrian College (43 points) and Olivet College (47 points) rounded out the poll in seventh and eighth, respectively.
The 159th Hope men’s soccer season kicks off on Friday-Saturday, September 3-4 with home games against Ohio Wesleyan University and Ohio Northern University. Both games start at 6 p.m. at Van Andel Soccer Stadium.
Led by head coach Dave Brandt, the Flying Dutchmen bring back all five All-MIAA honorees from last spring’s 5-1-1 team, including Most Valuable Player Ty Dalton. The senior midfielder and communication major is from Rockford, Michigan (Rockford HS).
Two returning All-MIAA first-team selections are senior midfielder and exercise science major Ryan Flynn (Bloomington, Illinois | Bloomington), and sophomore defender Brandon Fles (Spring Lake, Michigan | Western Michigan Christian).
Two returning All-MIAA second-team picks are senior defender and business major Dominick Byrne (Fremont, Michigan | Fremont) and junior defender Jackson Strabel (Grand Rapids, Michigan | East Kentwood).