Hope soccer's extremely strong season stalled by Calvin's Xtreme tie

GRAND RAPIDS - In rivalry games, everything is magnified to the extreme - or Xtreme in the case of Hope and Calvin.

Even the ties are Xtreme.

Calvin's Xtreme Haut scored seven minutes into the match to put the Knights up 1-0.

Hope's Seth Walters rocketed an equalizer into the back of the net into the back of the net to tie it 1-1 with 23:55 to go in the first half.

"That is what Seth is for us. He was our leading goal scorer two years ago and missed last year with a broken ankle and we really missed that. Every good team needs a Seth. I am proud of our guys effort and desire. We knew it was a bit of a sloppy performance by us, but that it typical in the rivalry," Hope coach David Blahnik said.

The Flying Dutchmen have had one of their best starts in school history and came into Wednesday's showdown ranked No. 7 in the country.

That was motivation for the Knights, though they didn't need any extra incentive in this rivalry.

"It was a really exciting soccer game. Neither group got into a rhythm. We disrupted them, they disrupted us. We played really well. We hit one off the crossbar, but it was an exciting game," Calvin coach Ryan Souders said.

Calvin unveils new stadium

The match was played in the new Calvin Soccer Stadium that was unveiled on Saturday.

The team has played on the turf Zuidema Field all season, but Saturday's men's and women's doubleheader was the first day of the state-of-the-art stadium with room for nearly 1,000 spectators in the stadium seating, plus bleachers and standing room only on the far side of the complex.

"It is unbelievable. For me to talk about it only diminishes what it is. It is a testimony to our intstitution's support of athletics," Souders said.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope soccer's extremely strong season stalled by Calvin's Xtreme tie