Hope Edges Trine With Late Goal

Persistence paid off for senior Courtney Laux and the Hope women’s soccer team on the road.

Laux, a midfielder from Novi (Novi HS), scored in the 79^th minute to lift the Flying Dutch to a 1-0 win at Trine on Tuesday.

Hope (11-2-1 overall) moved into a second-place in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) standings with a 8-2-1 league record. The Flying Dutch are tied with idle Calvin with 25 points. Alma maintained the MIAA lead with a 1-0 win at Saint Mary’s on Tuesday.

The Flying Dutch finished with a commanding 17-4 advantage in shots, including an 8-1 edge in shots on goal.

Hope, however, need a scrum in the net to convert a decisive scoring opportunity.

“It was a corner kick. Maria DeShaw had it,” Hope coach Leigh Sears said, referring to the junior defender from Holland (West Ottawa HS). “There was a bit of a mess in front of the goal. Courtney was holding around the 18(-yard mark). It kind of squeezed to her, and she just put it in.”

It was Laux’s second goal of the season.

Hope goalie Kat Dickson of Grayslake, Ill. (Grayslake Central HS) made one save for the shutout.

The Flying Dutch extended their win streak to three matches. They return to the field Saturday when they play at Olivet.

Four of Hope’s final five regular-season matches are on the road. The top four teams in the MIAA standings advance to the conference tournament.

“We need to get all the points we can while we can get them,” Sears said.