Above: Sophomore midfielder Madison McCreery on the offensive.
2020 at a Glance
- Roster size: 21
- Returners: 15
- Captains: Junior Rachel Elder, junior Laurel Frederickson, and junior Paige Rosenbrook
- MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll: Second
2019 Recaps
- MIAA Regular Season: The Flying Dutch recorded their most wins in program history (11-6) while finishing in fourth place in the MIAA (5-3).
- MIAA Tournament: Hope upset top-seeded Saint Mary's College in the MIAA tournament semifinals, 13-12. It was the first time in the tournament's seven-year history that a No. 4 seed beat a No. 1 seed. The Flying Dutch then fell to Albion College in the league championship finals, 16-14, nearly overcoming an early eight-goal deficit.
2020 Women's Lacrosse Roster
The Flying Dutch roster consists of two seniors, nine juniors, four sophomores and six freshmen. There is a strong nucleus of returners surrounded by new talent.
Key Returner
Senior Julianna Burlet was named to the 2019 All-MIAA First Team. A defender, Burlet topped the MIAA with 29 caused turnovers during league games. Hope was first among MIAA teams with 117 team caused turnovers in league play last season. Burlet also led Hope with 57 ground balls.
Key Returner
Junior Carly Pieri was a 2019 All-MIAA Second Team Honoree. She led Hope in goals-scored with 51 and co-led in assists with 21, despite missing one game due to injury.
Key Returner
Junior Paige Wilmer was a force on offense and defense for the Flying Dutch. Named to the All-MIAA Second Team, Wilmer was third on the team in ground balls (42), second in caused turnovers (30) and third in goals (31).
Other Hope Players to Watch
Head Coach Keagan Pontious
Keagan Pontious was named Hope College's third varsity women's lacrosse coach on June 20, 2019.
The Caledonia, Michigan native is a former NCAA Division II Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse All-American at Seton Hill University (Pennsylvania).
As a senior, Pontious made the IWLCA's All-America third team in 2019 after scoring 58 goals as an attacker. She helped Seton Hill advance to the NCAA tournament for the first time.
Pontious has been active coaching lacrosse the past five years. She is an assistant director and instructor for Grand Rapids-based Pure Advantage Lacrosse club.
"This place is great, and this team is absolutely awesome. I think that's the one thing that I'm so pleased with. They're just genuine human beings, and we're all striving for the same goal. It took a little bit getting used to the transition between different coaches, but they've handled it very well. And I think they're just super excited to keep going. So I'm absolutely pumped." — Head Coach Keagan Pontious
Women's Lacrosse By the Numbers
- 3.44. The team GPA of the 2019 squad, earning them an MIAA Team GPA award.
- 4. Consecutive winning seasons.
- 11. Women's lacrosse student-athletes who were named to the MIAA Honor Roll with GPAs of 3.5 or higher.
- 11. Wins during the 2019 season, a program high.
Credits:
Lynne Powe and Steven Herppich