If eagerness is an indication of potential for
success, then the Hope College soccer teams are destined for
banner seasons.
Both Hope teams begin their season Tuesday (Sept. 1), the
earliest possible starting date for NCAA Division III teams. It
is also the first day of classes at Hope.
The Flying Dutchmen will host Cornerstone College while the
Flying Dutch will travel to Aquinas. Both games begin at 4 p.m.
The men's team will play six of first eight games at home.
The only away contests will be a Labor Day weekend trip for games
in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The women's team will play three of its first five games at
home as part of a schedule that has a different look as far as
league games are concerned. Because of the expansion of the MIAA
to nine colleges, the Flying Dutch will play each conference team
just once followed by a season-ending tournament involving the
top eight finishers.
If eagerness is an indication of potential for
success, then the Hope College soccer teams are destined for
banner seasons.
Both Hope teams begin their season Tuesday (Sept. 1), the
earliest possible starting date for NCAA Division III teams. It
is also the first day of classes at Hope.
The Flying Dutchmen will host Cornerstone College while the
Flying Dutch will travel to Aquinas. Both games begin at 4 p.m.
The men's team will play six of first eight games at home.
The only away contests will be a Labor Day weekend trip for games
in Colorado Springs, Colo.
The women's team will play three of its first five games at
home as part of a schedule that has a different look as far as
league games are concerned. Because of the expansion of the MIAA
to nine colleges, the Flying Dutch will play each conference team
just once followed by a season-ending tournament involving the
top eight finishers.
Men's Soccer Outlook
The Flying Dutchmen will be seeking to maintain their
position as one of the leading NCAA Division III men's soccer
programs in the Great Lakes Region.
A year ago coach Steve Smith's Flying Dutchmen qualified for
the NCAA playoffs for the fourth consecutive year after posting a
15-4-1 regular season record and finishing second in the Michigan
Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings.
The pre-season roster of 36 players includes 16 returning
letterwinners. There are 10 freshman players. Coach Smith faces
a major rebuilding task with the loss of five players who
achieved All-MIAA honors a year ago.
Leading the returnees are senior back Andrew Dressler of
Portage, Mich. (Portage Northern HS) and senior back Zach Jonker
of Petoskey, Mich. (Petoskey HS). Dressler is a two-time All-
MIAA first team honoree while Jonker received All-MIAA second
team recognition last fall.
Juniors Matt Hassenrik and Clayton Bergsma, both from
Holland, Mich. (Holland Christian HS), were the team's second and
third leading scorers a year ago. Hassenrik scored 10 goals
while Bergsma netted eight.
Other returning letterwinners include junior Rob Allison of
Kalamazoo, Mich. (Kalamazoo Central HS), sophomore Ben Bacon of
Portage, Mich. (Portage Northern HS), junior Dave Dobb of
Holland, Mich. (West Ottawa HS), sophomore Evan Irish of East
Lansing, Mich. (East Lansing HS), junior Greg Kilby of Plymouth,
Mich. (Plymouth Canton HS), junior Ben Klimek of East Lansing,
Mich. (East Lansing HS), junior Mike Ladd of Jackson, Mich.
(Western HS), sophomore Curtis Mejeur of Kalamazoo, Mich.
(Kalamazoo Christian HS), senior Lance Pellow of Canton, Mich.
(Plymouth Canton HS), sophomore Stephen Rabuck of Myerstown, Pa.
(Eastern Lebanon County HS), sophomore Will Smith of Canandaigua,
N.Y. (Canandaigua Academy), and junior Matt Vander Naald of
Petoskey, Mich. (Petoskey HS).
The league schedule has expanded to 14 games with the
addition of Defiance College as an MIAA member.
Women's Soccer Outlook
The women's soccer program concludes its first decade of
intercollegiate competition by seeking its tenth consecutive
winning season.
The Flying Dutch posted a school-record 13 victories in 1997
while finishing third in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic
Association (MIAA) race.
Coach Paul Rosenbrook enters his second season with a large
group of returning letterwinners, including four players who
received All-MIAA honors in 1997.
Senior forwards Melody Morscheck of Kalamazoo, Mich.
(Kalamazoo Christian HS) and Gretchen Schoon of Holland, Mich.
(West Ottawa HS) were voted to the All-MIAA first team while
senior mid-fielders Tina Gill of Kalamazoo, Mich. (Kalamazoo
Central HS) and Sarah Klaasen of Holland (West Ottawa HS)
received second team recognition. Gill was injured most of the
last season after being voted the MIAA's most valuable player in
1996. Last fall Morscheck tied the Hope single season scoring
record with 19 goals. She also holds the Hope career record for
assists with 20.
Other returning letterwinners include junior Kate Berghorst
of Hudsonville, Mich. (Hudsonville HS), junior Debbie Burr of
Mendon, Mich. (Vicksburg HS), sophomore Miriam Khadija of
Haslett, Mich. (Haslett HS), senior Trystin Kleiman of Holt,
Mich. (Holt HS), junior Rachel Lamb of Brookfield, Wisc.
(Brookfield Academy), sophomore Katie Markan of Vicksburg, Mich.
(Vicksburg HS).
Also, senior Kathryn Nichols of Basking Ridge, N.J. (Ridge
HS), sophomore Lindsey O'Dell of Sterling Heights (Utica Ford
HS), junior Natalie Rejc of Farmington Hills, Mich. (North
Farmington HS), sophomore Lindsay Smies of Whitehall, Mich.
(Whitehall HS), sophomore Lara Splinter of Libertyville, Ill.
(Libertyville HS), junior Annalise Van Wyngarden of Caledonia,
Mich. (GR South Christian HS), and junior Amy Vincent of Holland,
Mich. (Holland HS).