For the first time in program history, the Saint Mary’s lacrosse team will go a full season without winning a game at home. The Belles lost their home finale on Wednesday afternoon 20-8 against Calvin, dropping to 1-12 overall, 0-6 in MIAA play and 0-7 in South Bend. With just one game remaining in the regular season, Wednesday’s contest also extended the Belles’ losing streak to 10 games.
Calvin wasted little time making the game non-competitive, outscoring the Belles 6-1 in the opening quarter. Meghan Chang opened the scoring with one of Calvin’s seven free position goals and then struck again two minutes later. Senior attacker Reese Bauer, who recorded a hat trick for the Belles, countered with a free position goal of her own to make it 2-1. But Calvin controlled the rest of the quarter with Jacey Smith, who tallied five goals on a game-high 11 shots, scoring twice within the first 15 minutes.
In the second, Saint Mary’s inched back into the game with two consecutive goals from freshman midfielder Cate Krema. Eventually, with 3 minutes and 39 seconds remaining until halftime, Bauer’s third tally of the game pulled the Belles within a 9-5 score. However, Calvin would aggressively cut Saint Mary’s off there. The Knights ended the first half with three consecutive goals, marching into halftime with a 12-5 advantage.
Four-goal-scorer Morgan Bethard and the Knights repeated the feat to begin the second half, opening up a 15-5 lead. Freshman attacker Lana Skibins kept the Belles offense running with two goals in the third quarter, but Calvin held its 10-goal edge through the final 45 minutes of play. Early in the fourth quarter, Kelly Ruha scored her fifth goal of the game for the visitors.
Calvin’s defense contained Saint Mary’s leading scorer Alyssa Grant for most of the matchup. The sophomore attacker entered the game averaging more than two goals per contest but did not score until two minutes remained on Wednesday. She also registered only two shots on goal, with her lone tally bringing the game to its final score of 20-8.
To wrap up their season, the Belles will visit Hope on Saturday afternoon. The opening draw is set for 1 p.m.
