2005 SEASON PREVIEW

An exciting and unforgettable soccer tour of the UK has springboarded the Dutchmen into the 2005 season. After a week of two and three a day practices, the roster has been set and Hope has set their eyes on Depauw University, the first opponent on the 2005 fixture.

Hope looks to be led by a veteran core of six seniors. Geoff Meyer, Devin McNeil, Karter Klingenberg, Bryan Johnson, and Phil Lepper all look likely to retain starting spots and hope to propel the Dutchmen to their third MIAA title in the past four years. Anchoring the Dutchmen in goal will be senior Kevin Butterfield.

In addition to a strong core of 2nd and 3rd year players, seven freshman secured roster spots on the team of 26. While playing time may be hard to come by for these new players, there is no doubt that they are talented. With proper growth, development, and commitment, these freshman will be looking to take over the key roles vacated by the six seniors for next year.

Hope's pre-league fixture is one of the toughest in school history. After opening at traditional powerhouse Depauw University, the Dutchmen will travel to Wabash College for an afternoon tilt versus the Little Giants of the NCAC. The following week, Hope will play host to two perennial national tournament teams, the Thunder of Wheaton College on Friday, and the Blue Streak of John Carroll University on Saturday. These matches are held in conjunction with Calvin College in honoring the late Dr. Calvin J. Bergsma, a loyal supporter and fan of both Calvin and Hope athletics. Hope will close out the pre-league portion of their fixture by playing in the Wilmington Kiwanis Classic. Hope will open against OAC foe Wittengerg on Friday evening and then take on the host Wilmington Quakers on Saturday night under the lights.

Hope will begin league play with a mid-week match at Albion College. Be sure to log in to the blog and the Hope College website for post-game match reports and comments as the season progresses.

2005 Roster

Jack Abe FR
Mike Amerman SO
John Bradford FR
Kevin Butterfield SR
Jeff Carlson JR
Danny Chesney FR
Jordan Cooper FR
Mitch Currie FR
Mark Dishnow SO
Jordan Goorhouse JR
Brady Jensen SO
Bryan Johnson SR
Karter Klingenberg SR
Phil Lepper SR
Gunnar Martin SO
Kevin McMahon FR
Pat McMahon JR
Devin McNeil SR
Geoff Meyer SR
Joey Orr JR
Ryan Robleske SO
Craig Root JR
Bain Rumohr JR
James Trebilcock FR
Dan Tresslar SO
Nate VanHorn JR

A Poet's Tale of the UK

Wow! What a tour - Scotland, England, even Wales
We leave with reluctance, but have many great tales.

Cheers to the Erskine, where the guys teambuilt with ropes,
Loved the food and the pool, but could we get some more soap?

In Scotland we learned that "changeable" meant rain,
Layering clothes, taking them on and off was kind of a pain.

We promoted antisectarianism with the bands that we sold,
A service project that raised $4,000 we're told.

We loved the Best Western with it's beautiful decor,
Great food, location, service with free toiletries galore.

We were thankful for McDonald's, but you better watch your pence,
4 pounds 79 for a burger meal just doesn't make sense.

And to the Bayswater Inn, "YIKES!" What can we say?
But the city of London just blew us away.

It rained from the ceiling, we were fearing a flood,
Here's a tip for you Macall - don't sleep in the tub.

The soccer was competitive - four losses, one win and a tie,
But with hard work and practice, for the NCAA championship we will vie.

"Wear your kits and boots on the pitch," "cheers to you mate,"
The way they talk in the UK is really first rate.

10 stitches, pulled muscles, broken nose and collar bone,
Ear infection, strep throat - it's time to go home.

Thank goodness for Dr. Butters, or more affectionately Big Jack,
Without his medical help there may have been an early departure back.

We're headed back to the states to get some good sleep,
Brennar's given us all souvenir rocks we can keep.

Some have a special souvenir, a bit of Man. U's grass,
If we had been caught, we'd been kicked in the .......;

Huge castles, amazing soccer - the sights we did see,
For organizing this trip - a huge thank you to Lee.

To Alan, our driver, thanks for all the safe rides,
Nothing was more beautiful than your Scottish countryside.

And we can't forget Murray - coach, tour guide, and friend,
Thanks for putting up with us from beginning to end.

So here's to Hope Soccer, both old and new friends,
Let's have a great season, may the fun never end.

-Bridget Schopp

last one

Thursday |August 11, 2005
Craig McNeil, Pat Root, and Devin McMahon

Despite another breakfast of champions consisting of stale rolls and jam, we
made our way into the heart of London. Upon arrival we split up and went our
separate ways and experienced important historical venues, such as the Tower
of London, the London Dungeons, and the London Bridge. Miraculously on this
encounter the bridge refrained from falling down. After a quick lunch, we
hopped on the double-decker tour bus. (AKA- Big Blue, Lightning Stripes, Alan
Mobile, Slick Racer, or more commonly known as the Firth) Big Blue’s wheels
rumbled into a lush and well maintained futbol facility of Watford FC. The
professional atmosphere and hospitality prepared our team for our final game.
With butterflies in our stomachs, we stepped onto the pitch and quickly found
ourselves down 2-0 partly do to some hometown officiating. We went into
halftime down 3-0 and looking to regroup. We finally started to put some
things together and ended the game and our trip on a positive note scoring two
goals in the last twenty minutes to finalize the score at 4-2. The remainder
of the night was free for all parents and players to enjoy our final night out
on the town in London.

Friday August 12, 2005
Craig McNeil, Pat Root, and Devin McMahon

We arose from our slumber bright eyed and bushy tailed anticipating the day’s
festivities. Slick Racer escorted us to Parliament Square where we had the
day to peruse all the London truly has to offer. We cruised the underground,
went back into time at Westminster Abbey, crossed the river Thames, went into
the sky via the London eye, while never loosing track time with Big Ben
standing high. We boosted England’s economy and really enjoyed ourselves upon
hopping on the Alan-mobile and heading back to the hotel for one last
delicious meal….
We concluded our two week adventure through Europe with a nice evening
filled with shared memories, highlights, poems, tears, and laughs. We said our
“thanks” and “good-bye’s” to the friends and guides we’ve met here and now
look forward to our safe arrival back to the states.
Thanks for the interest in our experience as a team and we all look forward
to seeing you down at 11th and Fairbanks in a couple weeks.
This is Hope men’s soccer 2005 signing off…

Hope Football Fans-

‘Twas a very eventful day here in Manchester, England. After getting up, the
team walked a few blocks to the local practice field to work on new formations
and new tactics. Coaches continue to learn more and more about the game from
our awesome tour coach/guide/representative, Murray. Following the training
session, the team and parents loaded up on the “Firth,” our luxury
double-decker bus and departed to Old Trafford Stadium, home of Manchester
United Red Devils. Man U is internationally known for their football success
and former club of supermodel/super-stud David Beckham. The stadium is the
biggest stadium in the UK and is under construction to enlarge its capacity to
above 67,000. Season ticket holders spend anywhere from £500 ($1000 US
dollars) to £5,000 ($10,000 US dollars) for seats around the stadium. Sky
boxes around the stadium, which hold 8 people go for about £47,000 (do the
math) for a season. These have a 10 year waiting list on them. Seating
sections for visually impaired, which have earphone jacks to enable spectators
to listen to the game, and sections for the physically handicapped are
available as well. The tour around the stadium took us through the players
tunnel, player’s lounge, player’s locker room, etc, etc… Highlights from the
tour also included using the same restrooms as the Man U superstars. The team
really came away from the tour in awe of what a big business the soccer world
is over here, but more importantly how beautiful the game can be.

After leaving the stadium, the bus headed back to the hotel where the player
and parents loaded up with a great dinner and took off for the game field just
over the border in Wales. The match was against Team Airbus, a U-19 Academy
team. With a new formation and great intensity, Hope went up 1-0 ten minutes
with a goal from THE Karter “Keith” Klingenberg from a pass from Bain Rumohr.
Hope continued to control the play but gave up a goal 35 minutes in to the
half that tied the game 1-1. That was how the half ended. Second half was
completely dominated by Hope’s play. Lee Schopp showed that he still had the
golden boot when he put one away two minutes into the second half off an
assist from Gunnar Martin. Nate VanHorn added to the score off another assist
from Martin, putting the Dutchmen up 3-1. Hope went up 4-1 when Bryan Mulder
put a penalty kick in the back of the net after he got tripped in the box
while cutting up multiple defenders on his way to the goal. Dan Tresslar bent
a free kick around a wall of 5 Airbus opponents to wrap up the scoring.
Hope’s first victory on the trip proved to raise spirits and confidence and
now look to finish strong in the next two games.

Cheers for now from Manchester. We leave tomorrow morning for London where we
will finish the trip.

Written by: Bryan “I love the beach” Mulder and Bain “The red-headed Luke”
Rumohr

Today we ventured off to the beautiful city of Chester. After departing at 9
a.m. we travelled 35 Kilometres before reaching our destination. Chester is a
city which is rich in culture with buildings fully intact dating back to as
early as 1100. We took the city bus tour which included many insightful
details of the city’s history. One interesting thing about Chester is that
the city is fully inclosed within a large brick wall. Chester also withholds
a breathtaking cathedral that contained a an immaculate garden. After our
visit we returned home to watch Chelsea vs. Arsenal soccer game which was the
season opener for the English Premier League. The result ended in a Chelsea
victory 2-1. At night we had a team jog off to a local park. Exercise wise
it was a light day much needed for many of the players.
Karter Klingenberg and Ryan Robleske

Saturday August 6th, 2005.

Saturday August 6th, 2005.
Saturday morning came early. At 7:00 in the morning we got up and enjoyed a
tasty breakfast. Around 8:00 we headed off to Whales where we played our third
match against Chester city. A hard first half resulted in a 3 – 0 deficit. In
the second half we bounced back and managed to outscore out opponents 2-1. The
game ended with a 2-4 finish. After the match we boarded our bus and headed to
Blackburn to watch an international club friendly between the Blackburn Rovers
(English premiere) and Espanyol (Spanish premiere). A very exciting game ended
with a 4-0 in favor of the Brits. The game was well played by both sides.
After the professional match we headed back to the hotel for a delicious
dinner and a relaxing evening.
Phil Lepper and Nate VanHorn

Blog for Aug. 5th !!!

Dear Hope College soccer fans:

To further enlighten all of you delightful folk on the details of yesterday’s
match, it had been a rainy before the match and the pitch was quite
saturated. To further complicate the condition of the field, it began raining
halfway through the match. The Dutchmen came out flying and created 2 prime
scoring chances with the 25 minutes. One came of a 65-yard cannon fired from
the arm of sophomore keeper Mike Amerman to the feet of senior Geoff Meyer,
who was fouled just outside the Scot’s box. The other came after senior Devon
McNeil toasted some Scot down the sideline and hit a low, powerful cross into
Meyer, who deflected the ball into the unprepared keeper’s side. The Scots
scored their goal just past midway through the first half, when a Scot forward
skilfully volleyed a well-struck cross into the back of the net. The second
half ended with an brilliant excitement as Amerman made a fantastic save on a
Scot penalty kick. The second half of the game was filled with more hard work
by the Dutch and more unfortunate results. The last quarter of the game was
filled with exciting opportunities for the Dutchmen, including a laser beam
fired from the 18 by sophomore Dan Tresslar that whistled inches wide of the
post. Though the game ended in defeat for the Dutchmen, spirits remained high,
as the team learned a great deal from the game and also showed fantastic
heart, even during the waning minutes of the match. The evening then found us
tiredly drifting off to sleep in our less than supporting mattress’ for our
last night in Scotland.

We awoke rather late, this well deserved extra sleep was much appreciated,
this morning to breakfast and prepare for the ride south to Manchester. During
this ride the parents and players partook in plethora of different activities.
The activity of choice was definitely napping on the bus while others such as
Joey Orr took time to play a spirited game of “Trouble” with the very young
members of our tour, namely Brenner and Tanner Schopp. I think they soundly
defeated their elderly opponent. The scenery on the southbound venture was
absolutely breathtaking. The lush, mountainous, green hills rolled forth from
the land with a elegance and vigor that embodied the true spirit of the
Scottish Highlands. Dotting these geographic pinnacles were many woolly sheep
and milk-laden cows. We then stopped over for a lunch break at a “bonnie wee”
village that resembled a Scottish version of the little Dutch village tourist
trap that one could find just north of Holland on US 31. The air surrounding
this quaint settlement was saturated with the pungent odor of fresh manure
(Swiss Perfume) manufactured earlier that day by Scotland’s finest. For
lunch the majority of the team was fiscally taken advantage of by the local
food merchants. Other more frugal members of the squad had packed either Cliff
Bars and/or sandwiches assembled during the mornings breakfast. After a wee
bit of shopping the entourage resumed the journey southward into England,
specifically Manchester.

Here in Manchester we found our accommodations to be exquisitely elegant. The
decorative lobby is scattered with extravagant statues, well appointed
woodwork, and quality upholstered leather thrones, not to mention an unlimited
supply of delicious white mints garnishing the front counter. The training
session tonight was directed by our Excel Sports Coach, Murray. His new
approach to the game is refreshing and is a great help to the team. The field
we played on was a short Astro-turf filed covered in fine sand. This lead to
some fun and interesting complications. Though the practice session went well,
as planned, members of the team still found it all to easy to slip around on
the sand as if they were walking on ice for the first time as toddlers.

The team then headed back to the Hotel for showers and some well deserved
rest and preparation for our match tomorrow morning, and to follow, another
exciting day of the European Tour.

P.S. The food at this new hotel is out of this world, especially the
desserts.

By. The handsome and well groomed sophomores Gunnar (Guntar) Martin and
Timothy (Phantom) Nelson.

Blog Post

Dear Hope Soccer Fans,

            Today we woke up bright and early for a departure to Saint Margaret’s Hospice. When we arrived we divided into groups of three and four mixing up with the girls team. The Hospice representatives gave each group a donation bucket along with a bucket of wrist bands similar to the “livestrong” bands. Each one of our bands said, “Say No To Sectarianism” to address the disputes between the Catholic and Protestant communities. Both groups are associated with the top two Scottish professional teams. The communities surrounding the hospice were very generous and our efforts were successful.

            After a successful morning all the players came back to the hotel for a quick change of clothes and soon headed out to Loch Lohman where we witnessed some of the beautiful land Scotland has to offer the world.  After a quick peak at the lake we soon headed out to do a little more shopping in the town mall.  Many opportunities arose for families to go out and explore the nature scene of Scotland.  After all the scenic views were witnessed the team and family members soon piled back into the double decker bus where we headed back to the hotel for dinner.

After a quick bite to eat and a short nap we were headed to our team building activity.  Our coming together as a team took place in the lawn outside of our hotel.  In all the activities that we accomplished we learned a little more about our team as a whole.  In the sense that we had to work together to accomplish each goal, Butters actually felt as if he was accepted in the team.  At the end of the session each player gave one word to represent his feelings about the activity. Some of the words used were; patience, teamwork, focus, and of course… dynamite.

Thanks for keeping up with our trip.

Composed by:
Indiana’s finest young men,
Dan Tresslar and Mike Amerman

 

 

 

 

August 4

Early this morning we had breakfast then loaded up the bus to go sightseeing
in Edinburgh. There we were able to visit the oldest castle in Scotland, the
Edinburgh Castle. The castle was full of Scottish history including the crown
jewels, a highly decorated armory abounding in period weaponry, and of course
the castle itself. Atop the castle we enjoyed a breathtaking view of the city
in all its glory. Then we spent the rest of the time enjoying the shops and
restaurants around the city. Eventually we got back on the bus to return to
Erskine Bridge Hotel for another fine dinner.
Many players decided to spend the bus ride preparing for the match in the
evening by napping before dinner. Then we were off to play our evening match
against the Knightswood Juveniles. Unfortunatly we fell 1-0 to the Scots.
After the game we were invited to a local pub to enjoy sandwiches and chips.
It was great to chat with the players and just get to learn more about their
culture and share some of ours with them. Today was a day full of culture,
both ancient and current, which lead to another informative and eye opening
experiance for us Dutchmen.

Sophmores, Mark Dishnow and Brady Jensen

Day 2 Men's Soccer

Written by Jeff Carlson and Kevin Butterfield

8-2-05

Dear Hope Soccer fans,

After waking up bright and early at 7:30 for a tasty breakfast, we left for
our second training session of the trip. It was fantastic way to start the
morning, for it was run by Murray, one of our trip tour guides who coached and
played at the professional level in England. We accomplished quite a bit and
were exposed to a different style and attitude towards training.
Upon returning to the hotel and grabbing quick showers, we departed for
downtown Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. Riding in the lap of luxury,
we took a double-decker bus, with the following specs: 71 seats, full air
conditioning, an emergency-only toilet (#1 only), 6 CD changer, 4 exits on
top, 2 on bottom, and a great view. We walked around the city, shopped some
and tried to stay dry as it rained for a while.
In the evening, following our early dinner, we left for our very first match
overseas. Our opponents, Hamilton ACCIES, a youth professional club, gave us
a great game, resulting in a 1-1 tie. We saw dramatic improvement from the
first half to the second, learning a lot from their intensity and creative
style of play. Our game-tying goal was scored by Geoff Meyer, resulting from
an excellent tackle by Nate Van Horn in the second half. Overall, it was a
great first game in many ways, leaving us with some things to work on, as
well.
We are looking forward to a good nights sleep and an exciting afternoon with
the Hope women’s soccer team, doing some mission work in a nearby town.
Thanks for checking up on how we are doing over here, we appreciate your
interest. Check out our pictures from the trip on the Hope men's soccer
journal page. Go Hope!

Day 2 Men's Soccer

8-2-05

Dear Hope Soccer fans,

After waking up bright and early at 7:30 for a tasty breakfast, we left for
our second training session of the trip. It was fantastic way to start the
morning, for it was run by Murray, one of our trip tour guides who coached and
played at the professional level in England. We accomplished quite a bit and
were exposed to a different style and attitude towards training.
Upon returning to the hotel and grabbing quick showers, we departed for
downtown Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland. Riding in the lap of luxury,
we took a double-decker bus, with the following specs: 71 seats, full air
conditioning, an emergency-only toilet (#1 only), 6 CD changer, 4 exits on
top, 2 on bottom, and a great view. We walked around the city, shopped some
and tried to stay dry as it rained for a while.
In the evening, following our early dinner, we left for our very first match
overseas. Our opponents, Hamilton ACCIES, a youth professional club, gave us
a great game, resulting in a 1-1 tie. We saw dramatic improvement from the
first half to the second, learning a lot from their intensity and creative
style of play. Our game-tying goal was scored by Geoff Meyer, resulting from
an excellent tackle by Nate Van Horn in the second half. Overall, it was a
great first game in many ways, leaving us with some things to work on, as
well.
We are looking forward to a good nights sleep and an exciting afternoon with
the Hope women’s soccer team, doing some mission work in a nearby town.
Thanks for checking up on how we are doing over here, we appreciate your
interest. Check out our pictures from the trip on the Hope men's soccer
journal page. Go Hope!

Well, our first day in Scotland was a gorgeous one. We arrived this morning at
8:30 after completing our 7 hour flight. Everything went very smoothly, with a
great deal of thanks owed to Lee and Coach Smith’s careful planning. We were
welcomed by a very cool and refreshing climate, and felt no guilt leaving the
humidity and heat behind us. The first half of the morning was spent settling
in to the hotel, followed by a quick trip to the local shopping mall. After
nearly every player bought a pair of soccer socks to use for the morning
training session, the bus departed for the local high school soccer field.
After a short training session in the beautiful Scottish sun the team made its
way back to the hotel for a trip to the pool, showers, and finally the beds.
After several of us napped for awhile we were awakened by the dinner bell.
Dinner was served in the hotel dining room which overlooks a beautiful river
running through the rolling hills of Scotland. There are many tired eyes and I
assume it will be an early night for everyone. There is much anticipation for
tomorrow, as we have plans of sightseeing, training, and also participating in
our first international match. All has been very well, and we hope the trip
continues to go as well as it has thus far. Until the next update, we send our
best from the famous land of “God’s Country.

Geoff Meyer

Lee Schopp
Hope Men's Soccer
Assistant Coach
schopp@hope.edu