Saint Mary’s will look to get back on track following Saturday’s loss to Albion this Tuesday in a conference game at Alma.
The Belles (6-8, 2-4 MIAA) faced the top two teams in the MIAA over the course of their last two games, and ended up on the wrong side of a blowout on both occasions. Wednesday, Saint Mary's lost 19-4 to conference-leading Calvin (8-5, 5-0 MIAA) and followed that up with a 20-5 loss to second-placed Albion (10-2, 4-1 MIAA) on Saturday.
The Belles struck first in their game against Albion, as freshman midfielder Clare Theisen scored on the first possession to take a 1-0 lead. The Brits responded quickly though, and proceeded to go on a 12-1 run to close out the half with a 12-2 lead.
The Brits opened up the scoring in the second half with an early goal, but the Belles were able to get one back to make it 13-3. Albion’s offense proved to be too much for the Belles throughout the rest of the second half, and the Brits came out victorious by a score of 20-5.
Following the loss, Belles head coach Amy Long had some positive things to say about her team’s effort.
“Although the scoreboard didn't reflect it, I think our defense played well and came up with some great stops,” Long said. “We played the two best teams in our conference last week and our defense was challenged, and I believe they rose to the challenge and continued to play well against some great competition.”
Long went on to praise the performance of freshman midfielder Mary Grace Heller, who led the team in goals, ground balls and caused turnovers in the game against Albion.
“Mary Grace had an outstanding game,” Long said. “She was smart with the ball and worked very hard to earn the number of ground balls and caused turnovers she did. She continued to hustle the entire game, and that is apparent in her stats for the game.”
The Belles will face another conference opponent today against Alma (3-9, 2-3 MIAA). Going into the game, Long looks for the Belles to improve their offensive production in order to get back on the win column.
“We need to produce more offense in our game tomorrow,” she said. “We have scored too few goals in our last two games and will look to increase our offensive output tomorrow.”
The Belles will take on the Scots today at 4 p.m. in Alma, Michigan.
