Men’s lacrosse against sexual assault

Last Saturday the men’s lacrosse team joined Calvin College’s team in an “It’s On Us” teal-out match. It’s On Us was launched in September 2014 as a national movement to end sexual assault. It asks everyone to realize the need to engage in the conversation to end sexual violence and to step up to change that conversation. Calvin’s head coach Dave Hoger commented on the intent of the game: “We are really excited for the opportunity to team up with Hope this weekend to raise awareness for It’s On Us, an organization committed to stopping sexual violence.” “We are proud to team up with Calvin to raise awareness against domestic violence and sexual assault, with our ‘It’s On US’ Teal Out game this Saturday,” Hope head coach Michael Schanhals commented. “Each player representing both schools will wear a teal decal on our helmets to honor our pledge to do all that we can to stamp out relationship violence.”

The Flying Dutchmen came out victorious in the game, winning 12-3 against the Knights. They won 15 of the 19 faceoffs in the game, with freshman Cole Scheffler and junior Marshall VanBelkum working together to get 14 of the faceoffs. “Our faceoff guys did a great job on the dot. We were strategic and able to work the wings to our advantage,” Schanhals commented. “That is a really good Calvin team that we beat today. They were really fired up. It was satisfying to see our guys step up and play so hard.” The team’s season record has moved to 9-3 overall and 4-0 in the MIAA. They started out strong in the Calvin game with a 5-0 run in the first eleven minutes, with five different players scoring the points! Junior Rocco Mularoni finished the game with the team high five points made with two goals and three assists. “It’s On Us is a good organization. We have done work with the One Love Foundation, too,” Schanhals commented. “I want our players to be good representatives of our school, our program and themselves. I want them to be good men. I’m not that much about talking. I want us to live that.” That spirit will be celebrated today at the Hopey awards, where the lacrosse team has been nominated for exceptional team performance for their win against Albion College (14-11), the first win against Albion in four years.

The game cemented their share of the MIAA championship title, the first time they have done so in team history. They are also up for the MIAA championship performance award as a team for winning the 2018 MIAA championship with a 7-0 record, having five players named to the all-MIAA first team and the league MVP, as well as six more players named to the second team. Women’s lacrosse also played last weekend against Saint Mary’s College, breaking their six game win streak with a 8-22 loss. Saint Mary’s currently leads the MIAA with a 5-0 record, pushing Hope’s season record to 8-3 and 3-1 in the MIAA. Both teams play again this Saturday away against Albion, the women at 1 p.m. and the men at 4 p.m. for their next MIAA match. Wish them luck!