The Hope College women's lacrosse team wasted little time in taking control of the game Saturday afternoon in its rivalry with Calvin University.

The Flying Dutch scored the game's first four goals and defeated the Knights, 18-8, at Van Andel Soccer Stadium for their fifth consecutive win over Calvin dating back to the 2021 season. 

Hope, the defending Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions, improved to 2-0 in conference play and 6-4 overall. The Knights, who finished third in the MIAA Preseason Coaches poll, dropped to 3-8 overall and 0-1 in MIAA play.

The Flying Dutch capped a busy week with victories against the two teams behind them in the preseason poll. Hope topped Alma College, 17-9, on Wednesday. 

Against Calvin, the Flying Dutch mirrored the fast start they recorded against Alma. The Flying Dutch set the tone for the game in the opening minutes, as their "Brown" combination – sophomore attacker Julia Brown (Grand Rapids, Michigan / Forest Hills Central HS) and junior attacker Kerrigan Brown (DeWitt, Michigan / DeWitt) – teamed up for the first two goals. 

Julia Brown scored first, set up by Kerrigan Brown, 1 minute and 53 seconds into the game. A little more than three minutes later, Julia Brown returned the favor, setting up Kerrigan Brown for a goal and a 2-0 Hope lead.

Sophomore attacker Sydney LaPrairie (Rochester, Michigan / Stoney Creek) then added two more goals in a span of 46 seconds, and the Flying Dutch led 4-0 less than seven minutes into the contest.

Hope led 7-2 after the first quarter. Against Alma, the Flying Dutch surged ahead to a 9-2 first-quarter advantage. 

"Sometimes we start out slow. Today [our start] was awesome," head coach Keagan Pontious said. "I think sharing the ball on offense allows us to score a decent amount of goals."

Hope used another four-goal flurry in the final three minutes of the first half to build a 12-4 halftime lead. 

Julia Brown scored her fourth goal of the half, followed by goals from senior midfielder Molly Frederickson (Alto, Michigan / Lowell), sophomore midfielder Stella Bottum (Alto, Michigan / Caledonia) and sophomore attacker Alyssa Segura (Naples, Florida / Barron Collier).

"What allows us to be dynamic is that all of our girls are willing to go to the cage and look to go to the cage and drive, and that helps us a lot [offensively]," Pontious said.

Eight different players scored goals for the Flying Dutch, with Julia Brown leading the way with a seven-point afternoon on five goals and two assists. 

Frederickson added four goals and an assist for five points, and LaPrairie scored on all three of her shots. 

Sophomore midfielder Caleigh Randall (Lansing, Michigan/DeWitt) chipped in two goals, and Kerrigan Brown dished out four assists to go along with her goal.

Hope outshot Calvin 33-17 for the contest and won 22 draw controls to eight for the Knights.
 
Meghan Chang and Jacey Smith led Calvin with two goals apiece.

The Flying Dutch travel to Adrian College for their next game on Wednesday, April 10, at 7 p.m.