Despite struggling offensively throughout much of the match against Holland Christian Monday night, the Dux varsity soccer team put in another strong defensive effort to earn a hard fought 0-0 draw. Holland Christian had the run of play most of the night, but were not able to generate many quality chances against the strong back line of Georgia Kuyers, Ellery Koomen, Evie Elenbaas, Addysen Miller and Madelyn VanDort - anchored by Izzy Terpstra. “Honestly, we really struggled to get anything going offensively from the start. We were not overly assertive and played tentative in the first half. Credit the physicality and aggressiveness Holland Christian brought tonight, they put us on our heels and kept us pinned in our defensive third for long stretches of the match. We did have short stretches where we were able to connect a bit through the middle, but we were unable to make the right decision on the last pass. We never really felt comfortable all night, despite playing with decent energy. The attention to detail just was not there, we made too many mistakes in trying to build some momentum. Despite these struggles, I was proud of or effort and resiliency considering the amount of pressure we were under.”

The draw brings the Dux to 2-1-2 on the season, and 2-0-2 in the OK Black. 

After a lengthy weather dely, the Dux varsity soccer team took the field at home against defending state champ Spring Lake. After a scoreless first half, Jordyn Klaasen struck first for the Dux. After driving down the left side of the ball, she cut the ball back inside before sending a laser of a shot that went over the outstretched fingertips of the keeper and found the far side netting, giving the home team a 1-0 lead. Spring Lake would get an equalizer after a failed clearance led to a scramble in front of Izzy Terpstra that somehow found the back of the net. With less than 3 minutes remaining, Alexis Glennie scored the game winner after a nice combination involving several Dux players. Glennie took the slotted ball in behind the back line of the Spring Lake defense before beating the keeper for the 2-1 win.

“Spring Lake is a very good team. We managed and controlled the midfield in the first half and defended well throughout. We were able to disrupt their rhythm through the midfield, and matched their physicality in the the defensive third. We did a decent job maintaining possession for the first half and were able to capitalize on the two chances we had in the second half. Our back four did a great job limiting quality chances and Izzy Terpstra played well again between the pipes. Georgia Kuyers stepped up and made a save in net when Terpstra went out with an injury in the second half. A great battle against two good defensive teams.”

The Zeeland West girls varsity soccer team got off to a fast start, scoring 2 goals in the opening five minutes against Hamilton Wednesday night. Jordyn Klaasen opened the scoring by driving in behind the back line of Hamilton before firing a ball back across the goal. The ball took a deflection off of a defender before finding the back of the net. Less than 2 minutes later, Alexis Glennie got in behind on the left side and slotted a great ball back across the face of goal to Brooklyn Haight, who calmly passed the ball into an empty net. The Dux would add two more insurance goals before the half, cruising to a 4-0 win. Ali Ortiz scored after receiving a short layoff pass from Glennie. Myah Kemppainen played a nice ball over the top to Glennie, who collected it nicely before calmly slotting the ball to the far post.

“We talked about the importance of getting off to a fast start against them to gain some confidence. Those first two early goals really helped us settle in and be able to dictate play throughout the first half. We played smart and simple, and were decisive and intentional in the final third, an area where we have struggled a bit early in the season. It was nice to have a cushion heading into the second half. Defensively, we played with poise, patience and purpose. We did a nice job of matching their physicality and really didn't concede many quality opportunities tonight. Izzy Terpstra earned her second shutout of the season, behind solid defensive play by Georgia Kuyers, Ellery Koomen, Evie Elenbaas, Madelyn VanDort and Addysen Miller. Our midfield covered and distributed really well, and our wings kept their back line under pressure all match. Great team win!”

The Dux are 1-1-1 on the season (1-0-1 in OK Black) and return to action on Friday when they host Spring Lake.