GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Today the Calvin women's lacrosse team opened MIAA conference play when it fell to rival Hope College at Zuidema Field. After today's game the Knights moved to 6-5 overall and 0-1 in MIAA play while Hope improved to 1-0 in conference play and 7-1 overall.
 
In the first period it was the Flying Dutch who got out to a hot start when they went on a 5-0 scoring run right out of the gate. The Knights responded when senior Morgan Bethard (DeWitt, Mich./DeWitt) found the back of the net before back-to-back goals from Megan Gibbs (Perrysburg, Oh./Perrysburg) cut the Hope lead to just two to end the period.
 
The second period was a more even affair as both teams scored four goals apiece and the Flying Dutch headed into halftime with a slim 9-7 advantage. Bethard started the second half with a bang as she scored her second goal of the day and cut Hope's lead to just one goal. However, the Flying Dutch punched back with vengeance as they went on a 6-2 scoring run to stretch their lead to four at the end of the third period.
 
In the fourth period, the Knights found some momentum as senior Audrey Booher (Fishers, Ind./Heritage Christian) scored on a man-up opportunity and Bethard added three goals to her total. Jacey Smith (Watertown, Wis./Watertown) also chipped in a late goal and with five minutes left of the clock Calvin had cut the deficit to just two goals. Unfortunately, thanks to some lock down defense and late-in-the-game keep away, that would be as close as the Knights got as Hope successfully held off the comeback and picked up the 17-15 win.
 
The Flying Dutch outshot Calvin 39-32 while Calvin better Hope in draw controls seventeen to sixteen. Bethard led the way for the Knights with a whopping five goals while Booher and freshman Megan Gibbs (Perrysburg, Oh./Perrysburg) each recorded three goals and two assists apiece. Smith finished the game with two goals while sophomore Delaney Johnson (Spring Lake, Mich./Spring Lake) and Celene Trewyn (Mukwonago, Wis./Mukwonago) each had one. 
 
Gibbs record a team high nine draw controls while junior Alex Petrusha (Milford, Mich./Milford) chipped in two ground balls. In goal, junior Hannah Rizzo (Waterville, Ohio/Anthony Wayne) finished with sixteen saves and led the team in ground balls with five.

COACHES COMMENTS: "We're moving in the right direction," said head coach Blake Boehm. "I'm proud of how the team showed up today. They locked in on the game plan and showed a lot of heart. This is a game of runs, and we found ourselves down by 5 or 6 several times throughout the game, but we never gave up. This team is solid in their approach to competition and it's exciting to watch them play their hearts out."
 
UP NEXT: The Knights will be back in action on Saturday, April 4th when they travel to take on Trine University at 1 PM.