Hope women's soccer end season with NCAA first-round exit

The Hope College women's soccer team had its season come to an end in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament on Friday. The Flying Dutch were downed by Ohio Northern University, 2-0, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Hope concludes with a 13-5-2 overall record. Before the loss to the Polar Bears, the Flying Dutch had won their last five games in a row, including the MIAA Tournament title last weekend.

ONU scored in each half against Hope. At the 42:01 mark, the Polar Bears received its first goal on an own goal when Hope goalie Isabelle Bertolone deflected a corner kick that pinged back into the goal by a Hope player.

In the second half, ONU's Jill Robert scored cleanly off a free kick sent from midfield that settled neatly to her right foot in the box. The goal at the 52:57 mark gave the Polar Bears their final 2-0 score.

Hope had a cold start in the first half with zero shots and zero corners, but the second half saw the Flying Dutch offense turn up the heat with 10 shots, six of them on goal. Freshman forward Madison Holloway (Macatawa, Michigan / Holland Christian) and senior forward Sarah Mikesell had the most shots with two apiece.

Defensively, Hope held ONU to just three shots, two on goal, in the second half. Both teams ended with identical shots (10) and shots on goal (6).

Bertolone made four saves.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope women's soccer end season with NCAA first-round exit