After a disappointing 5-10 season last year, the Saint Mary’s lacrosse team made a comeback in 2026, going 10-7 overall and 2-5 in conference. In addition to this, the Belles made their way to the tournament after the regular season ended. This year marked the third season for head coach Kara Visker, who took over the program in 2023.
The team kicked off its season in February and started strong with three wins against Aquinas (13-9), Illinois Tech (8-5) and North Central Illinois (12-5). Over spring break, the Belles fell in their first matchup against New College of Florida (12-11). After taking their second win against Warner (18-8) over spring break, the Belles returned home to go on a six-game win streak before falling into a midseason slump as they lost the last five games of the regular season.
Despite these five losses, Saint Mary’s was ranked high enough in the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association to advance to the tournament, where it faced Adrian, whom it had lost to in early April. While the Belles battled, they were knocked out in the first round of the tournament, losing 7-16 to the Bulldogs.
Senior attacker Alyssa Grant led the team for Saint Mary’s this season. Grant finished her final season with 53 goals and 76 shots on goal. Another team leader was junior captain and attacker Rachel Speckhard. Speckhard finished her season with 50 goals, 11 assists, 61 points, 96 shots and 79 shots on goal. Junior attacker Kathryn Kalinowski was the third team leader for the Belles. Despite having only 10 goals for the season, Kalinowski had 40 assists and 28 shots on goal. In addition to this, Kalinowski was also selected as MIAA Offensive Player of the Week in late March.
Sophomore goalkeeper Kaya Seaboy made her name known, earning All-MIAA Second Team honors. Seaboy led the Saint Mary’s defense, allowing fewer than 10 goals per game, and had 144 saves.
As a team, the Belles had a total of 201 goals, 110 assists, 444 shots and 306 shots on goal for the season.
