by Greg Chandler

A four-goal outburst over a two-minute span of the second half turned out to be the difference Saturday afternoon as the Hope College women's lacrosse team defeated Trine (Indiana) University 16-11 in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game at Zollner Field in Angola, Indiana.

Hope improved to 3-1 in official MIAA games and 9-1 overall heading into the final week of regular season play.

The Flying Dutch were clinging to a one-goal lead at 10-9 with less than 12 minutes remaining when they exploded.

First, senior midfielder Paige Wilmer of Columbus, Ohio (Upper Arlington HS) scored her third goal of the game off a free position opportunity from point blank range.

Then, in a span of 39 seconds, senior midfielder Carly Pieri of Alto, Michigan (Caledonia HS) scored once and senior attacker Rachel Elder of Grand Rapids, Michigan (East Grand Rapids HS) found the net twice – Elder's two goals coming 17 seconds apart – to boost the Hope lead to 14-9 with 9:20 remaining.

Trine got no closer than three goals the rest of the way.

The Flying Dutch dominated play in the first half, running off five unanswered goals in one stretch, two of them by freshman attacker Elena Salazar of Howell, Michigan (Hartland HS), in racing to an 8-2 lead with three minutes remaining in the half.

The Thunder clawed back, scoring the final goal of the first half and running off four straight tallies in the early stages of the second half to cut the Hope lead to 8-7 with just under 18 minutes remaining.

Goals by Pieri and Elder boosted the lead to 10-7, but Trine responded with two quick goals to narrow the gap to 10-9, setting the stage for Hope's flurry.

Elder, Pieri and Wilmer each scored three goals to lead the Flying Dutch, with Elder adding an assist while scooping up four ground balls. Wilmer also had four ground balls and caused two turnovers.

Salazar added two goals while senior midfielder Madison Micho of Grand Rapids, Michigan (East Grand Rapids HS) contributed a goal and two assists, both of which came during Hope's five-goal run in the first half.

Senior goalkeeper Laurel Frederickson of Alto, Michigan (Lowell HS), pictured, had eight saves in goal for the Flying Dutch.

Hope outshot Trine 39-24 for the contest, including a 31-19 advantage on shots on goal. The Flying Dutch capitalized on their free position opportunities, scoring six times on 11 attempts compared to the Thunder's 1 of 3. Hope dominated the draw controls, winning 19 draws to Trine's 10, and had a 23-19 advantage on ground balls.

Hope travels to Alma College on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. contest, then finishes up regular season action next Saturday with a 1 p.m. contest against Kalamazoo College at Van Andel Soccer Stadium.