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Hope College

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#BeStrongBeTrue
The Hope College men's lacrosse team holds the MIAA Tournament and regular-season trophies.
Mackenzie McMahon
9
Calvin CALVIN 13-4
15
Winner Hope HOPE 18-0
Calvin CALVIN
13-4
9
Final
15
Hope HOPE
18-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Calvin CALVIN 3 2 2 2 9
Hope HOPE 3 3 7 2 15

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | | Alan Babbitt

18-and-Oh! Unbeaten Men's Lacrosse Overwhelms Calvin for MIAA Tournament Title

NCAA-bound Hope is the first NCAA Division III team with an 18-0 record this season

A disciplined Hope College men's lacrosse team stayed on task despite a back-and-forth start in The Rivalry, with an MIAA Tournament title hanging in the balance.

The unbeaten Flying Dutchmen struck decisively midway through the third quarter, scoring three times in 1 minute, 18 seconds to pave the path to a 15-9 victory against second-seeded Calvin University Friday in front of a Van Andel Stadium crowd of 759.

Hope — one of three remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division III and the first to reach 18-0 — clinched its fifth trip all-time to the NCAA Championships. The field is announced on Sunday, May 3, at 9 p.m. on ncaa.com.

A jubilant group of Flying Dutchmen celebrated on the field the program's fifth crown in the MIAA Tournament, presented by Collegiate Credit Union, and the third sweep of MIAA regular season and tournament championships. Hope also continued the longest winning streak in program history.

Senior midfielder Jack McNamara of Ada, Michigan (Forest Hills Central), reflected on the approach that's propelled the team since fall workouts.

"Our big thing was our discipline is our destiny, so we went about it every day focused on the little things because they matter and they lead to championships like this," said McNamara, who contributed a goal and an assist. "Was 18 and 0 something on our minds? No, because we're just about one day at a time and putting in the work. It paid off. I'm so grateful to do it with this group of seniors and this group of guys. It's been amazing."

The latest victory swung on Hope's lethal transition game. After five tie scores and one Calvin lead, the Flying Dutchmen seized control early in the third quarter.

Tied 7-7 after a save from All-MIAA senior goalie Jack Balmforth of Livonia, Michigan (Detroit Catholic Central), the Flying Dutchmen raced upfield and scored just 15 seconds later at the 10:13 mark. Sophomore midfielder Weston Godbold of Lowell, Michigan (Lowell), buried into the net off a pass from All-MIAA junior attack Gibson Heethuis of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville).

Twenty seconds later, Hope doubled its lead. All-MIAA long-stick midfielder and sophomore Tyler Berens of West Olive, Michigan (West Ottawa) forced a Calvin turnover after the faceoff, and Hope converted another quick strike opportunity. All-MIAA sophomore attack Preston Hoexum of Ada, Michigan (Forest Hills Eastern), scoring off an assist from MIAA Rookie of the Year and freshman midfielder Jackson Vasquez of Lake Orion, Michigan (Lake Orion).

Another Balmforth save had the Flying Dutchmen on the move again. All-MIAA junior attack Gibson Heethuis of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville) converted in transition, set up by Hoexum.

Calvin (13-4) called a timeout after the Heethuis goal, but Hope scored the next three goals for a 13-7 lead with 4:24 remaining in the third quarter.

Head coach Michael Schanhals was proud of how his team stuck to the game plan and never stopped looking for opportunities to unleash its transition game.

"It's how we play. We just had to stay true to who we are," Schanhals said. "It's very difficult to play against that and, after a while, we're going to get it. Calvin did a nice job of denying us some easy entry passes at first. We adjusted and found really beautiful ball movement from the guys. That comes from a lot of hard work and trusting each other. It looked effortless, but there's a lot of hard work that went into it."

Heethuis finished with a team-high 12 points on eight assists and four goals. It was the third time this season the junior recorded at least eight assists in a game.

Hoexum also netted four goals to go along with one assist. Godbold and sophomore Jack Zuiderveen of Hudsonville, Michigan (Hudsonville) chipped in two goals apiece.

Defensively, Balmforth stopped five shots. Berens caused a game-high five turnovers as the Flying Dutchmen improved to 18-0 all-time vs. Calvin.
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