A goal-filled second half fueled the Hope College women's lacrosse team to their first victory of the season on Saturday afternoon. 

The Flying Dutch used a 12-goal second-half push after being down 9-8 at halftime to power past Oberlin College, 20-15, at Van Andel Soccer Stadium. 

The non-league victory moves Hope to 1-2 this season. 

"It was a collective win and we all played very well on both sides of the ball, offense, defense and mids," said head coach Keagan Pontious. 

The Yeowomen only outscored Hope in the first period, 7-6, before the Orange and Blue took charge, outscoring their opponent in the remaining three periods. 

Just 1 minute and six seconds into the second half, sophomore Julia Brown (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Central HS) started the six-goal period after a pass from senior Kristen Szost (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison International Academy)  as Brown made a slot run to tie the game at nine. 

A flurry of goals from both teams in the third period brought the score to 12-12 before senior Elena Salazar (Howell, Michigan / Hartland) found the open net to take Hope's first lead of the game. 

A minute and a half later and with 4:40 left in the third period, Salazar sent a winding side arm shot past the Oberlin goalkeeper. 

Oberlin did not get closer than a single goal for the remainder of the game. 

"I think defensively we started making adjustments, and we knew what we had to do based off of their first half and how they were coming down the field fast," said Pontious. 

The Flying Dutch capitalized on five man-up chances in the win. 

Salazar led Hope with a game-high five goals, while Brown notched four goals. 

Junior Juli Kirkpatrick (Granger, Indiana / Penn) recorded a game-high four assists. 

Senior Maddie Yakes (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford) made six saves in the Flying Dutch victory. 

The Flying Dutch kept Oberlin under five goals in each period following a seven-goal first stanza from the visitors. 

Hope notched a 27-11 advantage in draw controls against Oberlin.

"Our draw team was awesome today, just for us to continue to go forward and to pull away in the second half and I think that was the difference. We were very consistent and it allowed us to keep scoring goals."

Hope heads out on a spring break trip to Oregon, to take on Willamette University on Tuesday, March 12, and George Fox University on Thursday, March 14. Game times are set for 5 p.m. PDT and 6 p.m. PDT, respectively.