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Historic Moments and Notable Performances
Updated thru the 2010 season
- Men's soccer made its Hope debut in 1963. Over the past five decades the program
has grown in stature among NCAA Division III programs, winning in recent years
at a 75% clip.
- Hope and rival Calvin were co-champions in the MIAA's first season (1970). Forty years later (2010), the teams
were again MIAA co-champions. The two rivals have been MIAA co-champions three times (1970-2003-2010).
- The Flying Dutchmen have won the MIAA championship five of the last nine
seasons (2002 thru 2010). Hope's league record during that span is an outstanding
95-18-9.
- In 2007 Dan Tresslar became the third Hope player to receive the MIAA's
most valuable player award in back-to-back years. He joined Glenn Swier
(1974 & 1975) and Kevin Benham (1984 & 1985).
Hope's All-time MIAA
MVPs.
- Coach Steve Smith is
among the winningest active Division III coaches. Averaging 13 victories
a season, coach Smith ranked 15th nationally among all active NCAA Division
III coaches by winning percentage entering the 2010 season. He also ranked
in the top twenty among the winningest all-time Division III coaches by
percentage
(15th).
MIAA history was made when his teams
strung together three consecutive MIAA championship seasons (1994-1996).
Smith has guided the Flying Dutchmen to nine conference championships
since becoming head coach in 1990.
- Hope has been blessed with an abundance of All-America goalkeepers, beginning
with Lee Schopp '93 as a junior and senior. Aaron Angeli '96 was honored
his senior
year and Marcus Voss '03 as both a junior and senior. Yet another goalkeeper,
Al Crothers '84, was a four-time All-MIAA honoree. Hope
All-time All-Americans
- Outstanding among Hope's appearances in the NCAA Division III playoffs
was the 1994 team which advanced to the quarterfinals before being eliminated
in
a shootout. That MIAA championship team allowed only 11 goals in 21 games.
The 2002 league champions held three NCAA opponents without a goal.
- The Flying Dutchmen made their debut in the state-of-the-art Van Andel Soccer Stadium during the 2009 season.
The Flying Dutchmen posted a 5-1-1 record in their inaugural season. In six of those games, four ended in a 1-0 score (3-1), one at 1-1 and the other a 6-0 Hope win.
- When junior goalkeeper Logan Neil was voted the MIAA's most valuable player in 2010, he set a first for Hope athletics. His father, Matt Neil, was the MIAA's
most valuable basketball player in 1982. It marked the first time a Hope father-son duo have been honored in this way by the MIAA.
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