HOLLAND, Mich. - A late comeback push was not enough to keep the Calvin men's lacrosse team from falling at rival Hope 14-9 Wednesday night in a non-conference game at Van Andel Stadium.

Calvin (3-5) trailed 7-2 at halftime and 10-3 late in the third quarter. The Knights then mounted a furious rally, scoring six unanswered goals including five in the fourth quarter to draw within a goal at 10-9 with 8:03 left to play. Senior Joel Schaefer (Clarksville, Md./Annapolis Area Christian HS) ignited the rally with three straight goals.

Schaefer's first goal came on a man-up opportunity with 6:19 left in the third quarter on a feed from senior Chris Griffin (Hartland, Mich./Howell HS). Schaefer and Griffin then teamed up for another man-up goal 21 seconds into the fourth quarter. Schaefer scored another goal three minutes later and the rush was on. Calvin went on an a man-up opportunity moments later and the Knights made good on the chance as Griffin scored on a pass from freshman Griffin Sparling (Novi, Mich./Novi HS).

Sophomore Austin Bontreger (Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian HS) scored with 9:31 left and junior Michael Winkler (La Quinta, Ca./Palm Desert HS) scored with 8:03 remaining. Suddenly the Knights were within a goal at 10-9.

Calvin was able to fire two shots at the Hope net over the next three-and-a-half minutes but Hope goalkeeper Nick Schanhals came up with a pair of key saves. The Flying Dutchmen followed with a pivotal goal with 2:42 remaining to take an 11-9 lead. Hope added three goals inside the final two minutes to seal the win.

"I told the guys at halftime, 'We just need to chip away one at a time. We have to worry about the next play.' We got down and weren't making some of the plays we normally make," said Calvin men's lacrosse coach Dave Hoger after the game. "We had to battle back. We started doing that. We had a couple of goals scored on us in the beginning of the second half, but we started fighting back. We started chipping away. We came up a little short at the end, but I was really proud of the effort our guys put forth."

Schaefer finished the game with three goals while Griffin had two. Sophomore Noah Nedd (Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian HS), Bontreger, Winkler and Sparling all had one goal apiece. Griffin also finished with three assists while Sparling had one. Junior Ethan Brown (Falmouth, ME/Falmouth HS) had a team-high five ground balls. Winkler caused three opponent turnovers. Junior Austin Roden (Delaware, Oh./Delaware Christian HS) was 8-of-16 on faceoff opportunities. Freshman Mitchell Caldwell (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing HS) recorded nine saves in goal for Calvin.

The Knights return to action on Saturday, hosting Northwestern University of Minnesota at 11 a.m. at Calvin's Zuidema Field.