Men’s soccer team loses heartbreaker to Hope, 2-1

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College men's soccer team lost a heartbreaker to Hope, 2-1, today at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet. With the loss, the Comets have a 13-2-1 overall record and drop to second-place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings with an 8-2 record. The Flying Dutchmen improve to 10-5 overall and moves into a tie for third-place in the league standings with a 7-3 record.

Olivet got on the scoreboard in the 27th minute. Sophomore Esteban Russell (DeWitt) was tripped in the box, resulting in a penalty kick. Junior Fred Smyser (Grand Rapids/Forest Hills Eastern) took the PK and converted it for his seventh goal of the season. With two minutes, 30 seconds left in the first half, there was a 30-minute lightning delay.

Play resumed, and there was no scoring until the 71st minute when Gavlin Midlam tied the game for Hope. The game appeared to be heading to overtime but the Flying Dutchmen scored the winning goal with two seconds left. Off a long throw in by Grant Neil, an Olivet player deflected the ball into his own net.

For the game, both teams had 16 shots. Hope was slightly better with an 8-6 advantage in shots-on-goal. Smyser led the way for the Comets with five shots, while Russell had four. In net, sophomore Alex Lang (West Bloomfield/Detroit Catholic Central) played all except the final two seconds and made five saves.

Olivet will play its next three games on the road, beginning Saturday at Kalamazoo College for a 2:30 p.m. game.