After suffering a 2-1 loss in their conference home opener against Kalamazoo on Thursday, Saint Mary’s couldn’t keep up with Alma, falling 3-0 to the Scots at home Saturday.
Alma applied plenty of pressure on the Belles (2-4, 0-2 MIAA) early in the first half, putting a pair of shots on goal within the first 13 minutes of play. However, senior goalkeeper Chandler Rosenbaum saved each of these shots, accounting for two of her eight saves throughout the game.
On their following possession, the Scots (4-2, 2-1) carried the ball deep into the Belles' defensive end along the right side of the end line. A pass along the end line made its way to Alma junior forward Kelly Wilson, who finished off the play at the far post to put the Scots up, 1-0, in the 16th minute.
Despite making a big push near the end of the half, the Belles couldn’t contain the Scots, despite three shots in the final five minutes of the period. In the 33rd minute, the Scots doubled their lead to 2-0 when Rosenbaum attempted a diving save to her left, but redirected the ball to Wilson, who recorded her second goal of the game.
Saint Mary’s came out in the second half revitalized, but were not able to capitalize on any scoring chances. Less than 10 minutes into the half, Alma junior midfielder Agatha Weddle scored on a header to take the Scots up 3-0.
From there, the Scots played defensively, not allowing Saint Mary's any scoring opportunities and were able to keep the Belles at bay for the rest of the game. In the final frame, Saint Mary’s had eight total shots and three on goal, while Alma tallied seven total shots with four going on net.
Alma controlled a 17-15 edge in shots and also took a 11-5 advantage in shots on goal against the Belles. Despite this, sophomore forward Liza Felix led Saint Mary’s with four shots on the day.
The Belles seek to avenge these home losses as they travel to Calvin for a conference matchup on Tuesday at 4 p.m. The Knights, who are 1-4 overall and 0-2 in conference play, are tied with Saint Mary’s and Olivet for last place in the MIAA.
