Box Score
BRIGHTON, Mich. – The Otterbein University women's lacrosse team came up just shy in its 2016 season opener Friday afternoon, falling by a score of 10-8 to Hope College at a neutral-site location.

The Cardinals will now regroup and head out west for a pair of games in California, scheduled to take on Pomona-Pitzer on Monday, Feb. 29 before finishing the trip at Chapman on March 3.

The contest remained scoreless for almost six minutes until Otterbein struck first, getting a goal from fifth-year senior Alanna Schultz to assume an early lead. Hope (1-0) tied the game within a minute, but the Cards answered on a goal from junior Katy Williams to regain the slight advantage.

The Flying Dutch kicked into gear from there, finishing the half on a 6-1 run en route to a 7-3 lead entering halftime.
Otterbein tallied the first score of the second half off the stick of freshman Abby Smoot, but Hope responded with three-straight of its own and opened a 10-4 cushion with 16:58 remaining in the contest.

The Cards regrouped after a timeout, refusing to quit and getting within 10-6 as the game clock moved under 10:00 to play. Williams tallied two late scores in the final minute before Otterbein eventually ran out of a time.

Williams led the way offensively with four goals while Smoot was impressive in her college debut, scoring three times and assisting on three other scores to lead all scorers. Dana Kym roped in four goals for Hope.

Otterbein finished with a slight 25-23 shot advantage and both teams corralled 34 ground balls. Senior Karen Brady, making her return to the Cardinal lineup after missing all of last season, had nine saves in the goal.

Full box score will be posted as soon as it becomes available.