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#BeStrongBeTrue
Hope women's lacrosse huddle to celebrate a goal.
Lynne Powe
17
Winner Hope HOPE 6-1, 1-0
15
Calvin CALVIN 6-4, 0-1
Winner
Hope HOPE
6-1, 1-0
17
Final
15
Calvin CALVIN
6-4, 0-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Hope HOPE 5 4 6 2 17
Calvin CALVIN 3 4 3 5 15

Game Recap: Women's Lacrosse | | Greg Chandler

Women's Lacrosse Fends Off Calvin, Sets MIAA Record for Consecutive Victories

Hope has won 25 regular-season games in a row against MIAA opponents

The Hope College women's lacrosse team made MIAA history Wednesday night in its Rivalry game with Calvin University.

But it wasn't easy. The Flying Dutch held off a furious fourth-quarter comeback to open MIAA play with a 17-15 win at Zuidema Field inside Calvin Soccer Stadium.

The Flying Dutch set an MIAA record with their 25th straight regular-season victory dating back to April 2022, breaking the previous record of 24 straight conference wins by Calvin from 2016 to 2019.

It was also Hope's seventh straight win over Calvin in The Rivalry, cutting the Knights' overall lead in the series to 11-9.

"We try not to count," head coach Keagan Pieri said of the winning streak. "It's been fun. Every year brings something different, but we try to have the same message and stick with the process."

Hope (7-1 overall) once again started fast, opening the scoring just 45 seconds after the opening draw as sophomore midfielder Ireland Brown (DeWitt, Michigan/DeWitt) scored off a brilliant spin move. The Flying Dutch built a 5-0 lead before the game was seven minutes old.

Calvin battled back, cutting the Hope lead to 9-8 early in the third quarter. Senior attacker Julia Brown (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Forest Hills Central) scored her fifth goal of the game to ignite a lightning-quick burst of four goals in a span of 1 minute, 49 seconds that gave the Flying Dutch a 13-8 lead.

Hope took its biggest lead at 16-10 on a goal by sophomore attacker Sarah Rott (Grand Rapids, Michigan/Catholic Central) with 13:45 remaining. The Knights stormed back to score five of the next six goals, capped by Morgan Bethard's goal off a free position shot with 5:12 remaining, leaving the Flying Dutch clinging to a 17-15 lead.

However, the Hope defense buckled down, causing three Calvin turnovers down the stretch to secure the victory.

"I think we thrive off of competition, people who are going to keep playing the whole game, and Calvin always does," Pieri said. "We love that. I think us staying composed was important, and that's how we finished the game."

Julia Brown led the Hope offense with five goals, giving her 31 for the season, but she had plenty of support from her teammates. Rott had a six-point performance with two goals and four assists, and senior midfielder Sydney LaPrairie (Rochester, Michigan/Stoney Creek) had a career-best performance with three goals and three assists for a six-point evening.

Junior midfielder Stella Bottum (Alto, Michigan/Caledonia) added three goals.

Hope outshot Calvin 39-32 for the game, and collected 17 ground balls to 13 for the Knights. Senior goalkeeper Samantha Smith (Westfield, Indiana/Westfield) had a season-high 11 saves in the cage.

The Flying Dutch, who are going for their unprecedented fourth consecutive MIAA championship, travel to Adrian College for their game on Saturday, April 4, at 1 p.m.
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