Convincing Win

In the first match of the Wilmington Kiwanis Classic Friday evening, Hope dismantled Wittengerg College by a score of 3-0. The cloudy, rainy weather was certainly not enough to slow down the Dutchmen as they were dominant in every facet of the match.

Early in the first half, Hope carried the flow of play in the midfield. The dribble penetration up front caused problems for the Tiger backs, and Hope had repeated scoring chances. Karter Klingenberg got Hope on the board in the 27th minute as Geoff Meyer was able to slip by a defender and slot a cross on the floor to a wide open Klingenberg who put it home. Despine outshooting Wittenberg 13-4 in the first half, the score remained 1-0.

In the second half, a more determined Tiger squad put some pressure on the Hope defense, until Ryan Robleske played a brilliant through-ball to forward Geoff Meyer. Meyer was able to get past the defense and was taken down in the box. Devin McNeil converted the ensuing penalty kick to give Hope a 2-0 advantage. In the 61st minute, Meyer closed out the scoring. He was on the receiving end of a long cross from Pat McMahon, and his header into the side panel gave Hope the final margin of 3-0.

In the final 20 minutes of the match, Hope would continue to challenge the Tiger goal, with many young players getting an opportunity for some playing time. Hope will play Wilmington College for the championship of the Kiwanis Classic at 8:00 pm Saturday night. Wilmington was a 2-1 winner over Transylvania in the other match, scoring twice in the final 1:34 of the match to come from behind and win.