A frigid Thursday afternoon at Scotland Yard saw the Alma College women's soccer team host Hope College in a MIAA Semi-Final playoff match.

As was expected, the game was very competitive and was up in the air all the way to the end. However, the Flying Dutch, thanks to a goal late in the first half, persevered in the end and walked off the pitch with a hard-fought 1-0 victory.

"It is really tough to end the season," remarked Alma Head Coach Jeff Hosler. "After an evenly played first half, we were clearly the better team throughout the second but just couldn't find the net. This was a recurring theme this year and we will need to be better executing in key moments in order to win championships and make it back to the NCAA's.

"We did some very good things this year. I just don't think any of us thought we would ever be done so early. We will really miss this spectacular group of four seniors, but I believe their legacy will impact this program in a positive way for years to come. In four years, they have finished no worse than second place in the MIAA, won two championships, played in an NCAA Tournament and saw five weeks in the national top 25 rankings."

Each team took turns controlling the action in the first half, but it took some time before a goal was scored. Hope's Nora Kirk converted a cross pass and buried the ball into the bottom left corner of the net for a 1-0 lead.

In the frame, each team had eight total shots, while Alma had a 3-2 advantage in shots on goal. Both squads also had three corner kicks during the first 45 minutes.

Alma was relentless in their approach in the second half as they attempted to net the equalizer. However, the Scots could not get it past Hope GK Kat Dickson, who stopped everything Alma through at her.

The game ended with the Flying Dutch hanging onto the 1-0 victory and earning a trip to the MIAA Championship. Alma had 12 total shots to Hope's three in the final frame, including a 7-0 advantage in shots on goal. However, the Scots could not get the game-tying tally.

Sr. MF Taryn Handyside (Montrose/Hill-McCloy) paced Alma with four total shots and two shots on goal, while So. F Kelly Wilson (Midland/Dow) added two shots on net out of three total. Fr. GK Julie DeBus (Howell/Hartland) finished with one save on the afternoon. Dickson earned the win for the Flying Dutch with 10 saves in an outstanding performance.

With the loss, the Scots ended their season with a final record of 13-7-0, while Hope improved to 16-3-1 and advanced to the MIAA Championship game on Saturday at Calvin. The winner of that game earns the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

This season marks the fourth season in a row that the Scots notched 13 or more wins and the total tied for third-best (2012) in school history. Alma won a program-best 18 matches in 2011 and earned 14 victories in 2010.