The senior class for the Hope College women's lacrosse team provided the spark and leadership on Senior Day as the Flying Dutch completed a second consecutive perfect regular season in MIAA play on Saturday.

Hope's seniors combined for 11 goals as the Flying Dutch rolled to a 21-6 victory over Saint Mary's (Indiana) College on a warm and blustery afternoon at Van Andel Soccer Stadium. The 21 goals were a season-high for the Flying Dutch.

Hope, which clinched the MIAA regular season championship on Wednesday with an 18-6 win over Albion College, finished conference play at 7-0. The Flying Dutch are now 11-4 overall heading into the MIAA tournament that begins on Wednesday, May 1. 

Hope has now won 17 consecutive MIAA regular-season games dating back to April 2022. 

Before the game, the Flying Dutch honored their five seniors – attacker Elena Salazar (Howell, Michigan / Hartland HS), midfielder Molly Frederickson (Alto, Michigan / Lowell), midfielder Kristen Szost (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison International Academy), defender Tori Hoffman (Kalamazoo, Michigan / Mattawan) and goalkeeper Maddie Yakes (Rockford, Michigan / Rockford).

"They're amazing humans, and it's super nice to know they're doing everything they can for the team," head coach Keagan Pontious said. "I think they showed that today. It was really cool."

It didn't take long for those seniors to set the tone after the opening draw.
 
With Hope shorthanded early after a penalty, Salazar set up junior attacker Juli Kirkpatrick (Granger, Indiana / Mishawaka Penn) for a goal just 26 seconds into the game. Ten seconds later, Salazar scored unassisted.

Salazar and Szost later added goals as Hope took a 5-0 lead midway through the first quarter. The Flying Dutch led 6-2 after the opening 15 minutes.

In the second quarter, Frederickson scored three goals in rapid-fire fashion, just 30 seconds apart, to highlight a nine-goal period that tied a season-high. Hope led 15-4 at halftime.

Frederickson led the Flying Dutch with five goals, tying a career-high she set last season in an MIAA tournament win over Calvin University. She has 33 goals this season and 97 for her career.

Salazar, Hope's all-time career leader in goals and points, added to her totals with four goals and an assist. She now has 192 goals for her career, including 42 this year, and 231 points.

Szost scored twice, scooped up three ground balls and won six draw controls for the game.

Sophomore midfielder Caleigh Randall (Lansing, Michigan / DeWitt) scored three goals for the Flying Dutch, while sophomore midfielder Sydney LaPrairie (Rochester, Michigan / Stoney Creek) chipped in two goals and two assists. 

Kirkpatrick contributed two assists to her opening goal and became Hope's career leader in assists with 62, moving past Madison Micho, who had 60 assists from 2018 to 2022.

"We [wanted to emphasize] discipline as we go into some tough games next week, and making sure we are playing as us: playing to the best of our ability, no matter what the score is," Pontious said. "We talked about it all week, and we wanted to make sure we're doing it during game day."

Hope outshot Saint Mary's 39-13 for the game, including a 26-8 edge in the first half. The Flying Dutch also won 26 draws compared to five for the Belles.

Kathryn Kalinowski and Christiana Singler led Saint Mary's with two goals apiece. The Belles finished their season at 0-7 in the league and 1-13 overall.

As conference champion and the top seed for next week's MIAA tournament, Hope next will play fourth-seeded Albion, which defeated Alma College, 16-10, on Saturday to clinch the final tournament berth.

The start time for Wednesday's game at Van Andel Soccer Stadium is to be announced.