by Odille Parker 

It was a fast, powerful start on the road for the Hope College men's lacrosse team on Saturday afternoon,opening with ten unanswered goals in its 19-6 victory against Calvin University.

Junior midfielder Liam Cunningham of South Lyon (Detroit Catholic Central) scored the first goal for the Flying Dutchmen 34 seconds into the game after an early turnover by the Knights. 

The win improved Hope to an 11-0 all-time record against Calvin.

"We shot the ball better today," said head coach Mike Schanhals. "It was nice to see us capitalize on our chances, especially early on. When you start shooting the ball well early, you can kind of relax and continue to shoot the ball better."

The win was an all-around team effort, with all thirty-one players on the road roster getting playing time. 

Hope was led by midfielder Luke Elder who tallied five goals. This was the second highest-scoring game for the senior from Grand Rapids (East Grand Rapids), who scored three back-to-back-to-back goals to end the first quarter.

Junior attacker Jack Radzville of Howell (Howell HS) and freshman attacker Michael Maan of Plymouth (University of Detroit-Jesuit) each had three goals.

Sophomore Davis VanSkiver of Grand Rapids (Forest Hills Northern) and junior Brian Bera of Rockford (Rockford HS) each added two goals. 

Long stick midfielder Andrew Conlon, pictured right, was also instrumental in keeping Calvin off the scoreboard. The junior of East Grand Rapids (East Grand Rapids) caused three turnovers and picked up five ground balls.

"Andrew played an outstanding game at long pole," said Schanhals. "He was aggressive and in command. We held them off for quite a while and even from getting shots, and that was largely due to his excellent footwork, relentless pursuit, and surgical checking."

Calvin scored their first goal 5 minutes and 19 seconds into the second quarter, and Hope responded with eight more unanswered goals. The Knights scored back-to-back early in the fourth quarter to bring the score 18-3. 

Freshman midfielder John-Mark Torrence of Portage (Portage Northern) responded with one more goal for the Flying Dutchmen.

Goalies Ian Bosman of Centennial, Colorado (Cherry Creek) and John Shea of Commerce Township (Detroit Catholic Central) made four and seven saves, respectively.

"We did a really nice job with our energy and enthusiasm… it was another great installment in the (Hope-Calvin) rivalry today," said Schanhals.

Hope returns for a home face-off against Alma College on Friday, March 12 at 6 p.m. at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium.