Story by Mitch Blankespoor
KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Kalamazoo College women's lacrosse team fell to Hope College 10-9 Saturday in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play.
Kalamazoo fell behind two in the first seven minutes but bounced back with goals from freshmen Anika Sproull and Anna Dariaghi. Hope would score the next four goals to take a 6-2 lead it would not relinquish.
"Overall this was a very competitive game and we knew coming into the game it would be," Kalamazoo Head Coach Emilia Ward said. "The game came down to who executed on offense and who committed the least turnovers. We had some costly turnovers and bad shots in the second half."
Kalamazoo committed 24 turnovers in the game including 17 in the second half. For comparison, Hope had 16 turnovers. The Flying Dutch also held the advantage in shots 32-23 but the Hornet did hold a 10-9 edge in the second half.
Hope was able to keep its lead in the second half by keeping possession. Kalamazoo won just one of the eight draw controls in the final 30 minutes.
The Hornets did get within a single goal with 2:22 remaining in regulation but could not score the game-tying goal as a costly turnover allowed Hope to run out the rest of the clock.
Sproull finished the game with five goals.
"We have a big game coming up against Albion to keep out postseason hopes alive," Ward commented.
Kalamazoo will travel to Albion April 22 for a 7:00 p.m. contest.