Hope College women's lacrosse claims first MIAA title
HOLLAND - Ten years after Hope College launched women's lacrosse as a varsity sport, the Flying Dutch have their first outright Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship in the sport.
The Flying Dutch completed a perfect MIAA regular season Saturday afternoon at Van Andel Soccer Stadium, exploding for 11 goals in the first quarter and going on to defeat Kalamazoo College, 20-8.
Hope finished 7-0 in MIAA play and is now 10-5 overall heading into a semifinal contest in the MIAA tournament on Wednesday, May 3 against Calvin University at Van Andel Soccer Stadium. Start time is 4 p.m. Eastern time.
"It's amazing. I think it's pretty cool to see them come together as a team and absolutely just play for each other," head coach Keagan Pontious said after the game. "We've been talking about that all season and when we do that for each other, we come out on top."
The Flying Dutch set the tone for the game early, striking for four goals in the first 1 minute and 44 seconds. Junior midfielder Molly Frederickson of Alto, Michigan (Lowell) opened the scoring with a man-up goal just 36 seconds after the opening draw control. A mere 21 seconds later, freshman midfielder Caleigh Randall of Lansing, Michigan (DeWitt) scored the first of her team-high four goals for the contest. Then sophomore attacker Kerrigan Brown of DeWitt, Michigan (DeWitt) scored twice in a span of 20 seconds for a 4-0 Hope lead.
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The Hope lead grew to 10-0 with 8:16 left in the first quarter on a goal by sophomore attacker Ruthie Anderson of Lowell, Michigan (Lowell), and the Hornets never threatened. The Flying Dutch led 16-3 at halftime.
Eight different players scored at least two goals for the Flying Dutch. Besides Randall's four-goal effort, Kerrigan Brown added three goals and three assists for a six-point day. Frederickson and sophomore midfielder Juli Kirkpatrick of Granger, Indiana (Mishawaka Penn) each had five points with two goals and three assists.
Junior attacker Elena Salazar of Howell, Michigan (Hartland) and freshman attacker Julia Brown of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Forest Hills Central) chipped in two goals and two assists apiece. Salazar also caused five turnovers. Anderson and freshman midfielder Sydney LaPrairie of Rochester, Michigan (Stoney Creek) contributed two goals each.
"We continue to tell each (of our players) that every single one of them is responsible to add value to our program, every day, whatever that means for them. It's amazing that we can have every single person on the field to add value. I think that definitely is what separates us from a lot of the other teams we've played," Pontious said.
Freshman goalkeeper Samantha Smith of Westfield, Indiana (Westfield) made seven saves in goal for the Flying Dutch.
The Flying Dutch outshot Kalamazoo 37-17 and scooped up 21 ground balls to 16 for the Hornets.
Hope outscored its opponents in MIAA regular season play this season 126-43. They hit the 20-goal mark three times and did not allow an opponent to score in double figures. Their closest margin of victory was a 16-9 road win over Calvin University on April 22.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Hope College women's lacrosse claims first MIAA title
