Sports

Lorton: Irish face tough schedule ahead

Early Tuesday morning, the Irish were named the No. 1 team in the country.  Later that afternoon, they proved why, with a 2-0 victory over No. 18 Michigan State. Notre Dame (10-1-5) tallied its sixth shutout and ninth multiple-goal game of the season. The Spartans (9-4-3) are no easy team to beat on the road, as they currently sit at No. 11 in the RPI standings. Prior to Tuesday's matchup, the Spartans held a 14-5 advantage in goals over their opponents while at home. Now as the No. 1 team in the country, it would be expected that the Irish beat the No. 18 team, but it is not that simple. It is Notre Dame's second away game in three days against ranked opponents. The Irish beat then-No. 12 Wake Forest 3-1 Saturday, returned home, had one practice and then beat Michigan State on Tuesday. That's 1,640 miles, two top-20 teams and two wins in the span of a little under 72 hours. Notre Dame is undefeated on the road with a 6-0-1 record. And let's not forget that on top of the grueling schedule the Irish face, they are in a completely new conference - one of the best conferences in the nation. Every ACC team they play is unknown territory. Yet, their conference record? 6-1-3. It is quite impressive what the Irish have done so far this season, and they deserve the No. 1 spot, but Irish coach Bobby Clark said the ranking has no effect on his team. And it shouldn't.   "We never discuss it," Clark said. "[Rankings] have never been mentioned in our locker room. And they won't be. Rankings are for the media and the fans. To the players, it means absolutely nothing. We won't talk about it internally until the end of the season." The Irish still have conference opponent Pittsburgh at home Friday to worry about before they enter into the ACC tournament and then the NCAA playoffs. The Irish mentality is that every game is a playoff game, and their performance reflects that. Notre Dame is firing on all cylinders. Its defense boasts a 0.68 goals-against average, while the offense looks to be finishing opportunities as of late. But a No. 1 ranking can only carry a team so far. When it comes down to double overtime in single elimination, anything can happen. So, the Irish need to take advantage of the chances they get on offense. The Irish can't become complacent with their powerful defense. If they sit back and can't connect on opportunities, nights like the 2-0 loss to Virginia on Oct. 16 will happen again. It is Notre Dame's only loss on the year, but from it comes a valuable lesson: be aggressive. In the past two games, the goals that have been scored by the Irish were within five minutes of each other. In the Wake Forest game, the first two Irish goals were just four minutes and 17 minutes apart, while in the Michigan State game, the goals were scored 37 seconds apart. After a goal, the Irish cannot sit back and hope its defense will hold onto the lead. In these playoff matches, overtime golden goals can go either way. At the end of the season, the Irish want to say they were the No. 1 team in the country - and have the hardware to prove it.    

Staff Predictions: Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh

By ANDREW GASTELUM Editor-in-Chief

One-man wrecking crew Donald wreaks havoc

Aaron Donald has been blowing up offenses all season, and this Saturday night he'll be lined up opposite Notre Dame.

Football: Call 'em out

J.P. Holtz made no attempt to hide his feeling for Notre Dame. "I just think they're really cocky and their coaches are really cocky. I just don't like that," Holtz said to reporters Monday. Holtz's Panthers (4-4) will look to do Saturday what they could not last year - take down Notre Dame. The No. 23 Irish (7-2) enter Pittsburgh on the heels of four consecutive victories and back-to-back offensive performances of 45 and 38 points against Air Force and Navy, respectively. "We found a pretty good rhythm, offensively, over the last few weeks," Irish coach Brian Kelly said. "We want to build on that." Despite his offense's recent success, Kelly said the unit cannot lead the Irish to a BCS bowl game on its own. "We know more about our strengths and weaknesses offensively, and that's pretty clear, and I think we know now ...  who we are offensively and that is where we'll move forward," he said. "I don't think we're a strength in terms of being able to carry this team. We're going to need every piece working together." The Irish will have to deal with Panthers senior defensive tackle Aaron Donald, whom Kelly described as a "one-man wrecking crew." Donald leads the nation in tackles for loss per game and is third in sacks per game. On the season, the 6-foot, 285-pounder has 36 tackles, 19.5 for loss and nine sacks. "We know about him from last year," Kelly said. "Big, physical defensive line, and he will be somebody that we will have to game-plan and find a way to slow down." In last year's 29-26 triple-overtime Irish win, Donald had seven tackles, including one for loss. On the offensive side of the ball, the Panthers have struggled to find consistency. In their last three games against BCS conference opponents, the Panthers have rushed for a combined 26 yards, including a minus-8 figure against Georgia Tech last week. Still, Kelly said running the football is a staple of Pittsburgh teams. "Running the football has always been one of their trademarks, because they always had outstanding running backs through the years that we played them," Kelly said. "This year it seems to be more prolific in terms of throwing the football. Maybe that's a little bit different from last year." Pittsburgh senior Tom Savage (whom Kelly played while he was at Cincinnati and Savage was at Rutgers) has thrown for 1,779 yards and 14 touchdowns with seven interceptions. He has managed to do this behind an offensive line that has allowed 29 sacks. Pittsburgh ranks 118th in the country (out of 123 teams) in sacks allowed per game. Kelly said the Panthers always play the Irish tough. "Midwestern team, tough, blue collar, physical, they don't seem to like Notre Dame very much, and they want to beat Notre Dame," he said. "I think it's one of those games where you know you're going to go in and it's going to be a fight. We're prepared for that." Updates on injuries While Kelly announced on Sunday junior linebacker Ben Councell had suffered a "significant knee injury" during the win over Navy, he confirmed Councell hurt his ACL and will be out for the rest of the season. Councell would likely be limited during spring practice, Kelly said. Sophomore linebacker Romeo Okwara, who has seen time as a defensive end, drop linebacker and cat linebacker, will fill in for Councell as freshman Jaylon Smith's backup. Kelly said senior nose tackle Louis Nix and sophomore defensive end Sheldon Day would both practice and he is hoping for them to play Saturday. With a depleted front seven, the Irish will look toward other players - like graduate student Tyler Stockton, senior defensive lineman Justin Utupo, junior linebacker Anthony Rabasa, sophomore defensive lineman Jarron Jones and freshman defensive lineman Isaac Rochell - to take some snaps. Contact Matthew DeFranks at mdefrank@nd.edu  

Dropping the Hammer

It is almost hard to reconcile the two demeanors of Prince Shembo. The intense emotion he displays on the football field and at pep rallies is a far cry from the laughing, joking, story-telling Shembo present when a single flashbulb replaces stadium lights and a single recorder replaces a sound system. 

Zuba: Bears and Pack: R-E-S-P-E-C-T (Nov. 6)

A weird sort of respect exists between longtime rivals. Bears and Packers fans understand. Since the storied franchises first played each other in 1921, Bears and Packers fans have been more than a little suspicious of one another. Bears fans can't understand the allure of those silly cheese hats, and Packers fans hate how Chicagoans drive like highway speed limits don't exist and state troopers will never catch them. But somehow, the fans and teams from Green Bay and Chicago respect each other. The crazies in green-and-yellow and navy-and-orange acknowledge they need each other. The Bears might despise the Packers, but without those ridiculous Cheeseheads, there is no rivalry. Without the Bears and the lunatic drivers who are their fans, there is no rivalry. This does not mean the Bears or the Packers would like to see each other succeed. Absolutely not. Come Sunday (or Monday or Thursday), both sides would like to see the other get obliterated. Still, with pride comes the necessity of having someone to wield pride over. It's even better when a team can hold their success over the heads of another historic team. The Bears beat the Packers 27-20 Monday, but they earned more than the right to brag about one game. When the tides turn in the Bears-Packers rivalry, the winner takes over more than 80 years of bragging rights. The Bears and the Packers respect each other because their collective history makes the rivalry exciting and one of the best in professional sports. Their collective success is even stronger than one team's history. Monday night's storyline would have been interesting without the background of the rivalry. Behind backup-turned-starting quarterback Josh McCown, the Bears and rookie NFL head coach Marc Trestman challenged the division-leading Packers, who had beaten the Bears in six consecutive matchups. Years of rivalry supercharges this kind of atmosphere. Now it's about Chicago's laborious struggle to find a franchise quarterback, while Green Bay has been a quarterback factory, training home-grown products in Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers. Now it's about the Bears' vendetta against Favre for years of precision torture and B.J. Raji for his interception, touchdown and dancing celebration during the 2011 NFC Championship Game in Chicago. Green Bay and Chicago have caused each other sporting pain for decades, so both organizations know how it feels both to lose excruciatingly and to win triumphantly in the rivalry. It's a strange form of respect, but this understanding of defeat and victory connects the teams and fans. It creates a weird appreciation for the rival's success, too. During Favre's career, Bears fans couldn't stand him. By the end of his career, neither could Packers fans. But Bears fans couldn't help but appreciate some of Favre's great performances - in a complicated way. Chicagoans gave Favre a pat on the back for being absurdly talented, while promising, at the same time, to make him cry next time around. "Brett," Bears fans seemed to say, "You are not welcome in our homes, but thanks for keeping the rivalry great." The feeling is at once resentful and begrudgingly grateful. It's not the same when the Packers play anyone else. Losing to, say, the San Diego Chargers would annoy a typical Packers fan, and perhaps anger a belligerent one. But only a loss to the Bears can keep a Packers fan up at night with nightmares about the Chicagoan next to him in the stands wearing a Ditka mustache and chanting for "DaBears." Only a loss to the Packers can keep a lactose-tolerant Bears fan up at night, worrying about cheese. That's special. That's a rivalry. And somehow, that's respect. Contact Samantha Zuba at szuba@nd.edu The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

Women's Interhall: Babes snatch first season win

Breen Phillips 19, Walsh 14

Men's Soccer: Irish take on rivals Michigan State

SMC Soccer: Saint Mary's finishes season with shutout

Behind an overpowering offensive attack and a stingy defense, Saint Mary's capped off its season Monday with a 5-0 shutout win over Trine, ending the season on a four-game winning streak. "We really played well as a team today, especially offensively," Belles junior defender and co-captain Mary Kate Hussey said. "We were able attack aggressively and confidently, and really played as one unit." Senior midfielder and co-captain Mollie Valencia, playing in her last game in a Belles uniform, got Saint Mary's (10-7-3, 8-5-3 MIAA) on the board early, when freshman forward Emily Rompola sent a pass from the right sideline to a sprinting Valencia at the top of the box. Valencia took a touch before sending the ball to the back of the net for her second goal of the year. "That was great to see [Mollie] get a goal in her last game," Joyce said. Belles freshman forward Rosie Biehl took the reins from there. In the 35th minute, a Belles shot deflected off a Thunder defender right to an awaiting Biehl on the left side of the box, who sent a shot past senior Trine goalkeeper Jamie Schnarr into the far side of the net. In the 47th minute, Biehl received a pass from junior forward Kelly Wilson on the left side of the box, sneaking a low shot between the left post and Schnarr to give the Belles a 3-0 lead and Biehl a team-leading eighth goal on the year. "Rosie's really hit her stride the past few games with four goals in three games," Joyce said. "It'll be exciting to see what she can do the next three years." Senior forward Jordan Diffenderfer added her second goal of the season in the 73rd minute off a scramble in the box, while sophomore Rachel Schulte added to the blowout with her first goal of the season four minutes later off an assist from senior forward Kaitlin Teichman, giving the Belles their fifth goal of the afternoon. Junior goalkeepers ChanlerRosenbaum and Natalie Warner combined for the shutout. Warner saved the lone shot on goal from the Thunder (2-17, 1-15) as the Belles defensive unit held Trine to just three shots. Already out of contention for the MIAA tournament, Hussey said the Belles were playing for pride Monday. "There wasn't any pressure to score or win this game for our record," Hussey said. "We wanted to do it for ourselves and our seniors. ... We wanted to send them off well." The Belles conclude the season in fifth place in the MIAA, three points behind fourth-place Adrian. The top four teams make the postseason conference tournament. "We came up a win short, but this team plays some sublime soccer and had a good year," Joyce said. "We'll work hard for a shot at it next year." Contact A.J. Godeaux at agodeaux@nd.edu  

Volleyball: ND wins pair in homestand

The Irish swept their home series over the weekend, defeating Maryland 3-1 on Friday and battling Pitt in five sets Sunday before snatching a 3-2 victory. Against Maryland (12-12, 4-8 ACC), the Irish (10-13, 4-8) took control offensively. Notre Dame had 54 kills and had four players with 10 or more kills apiece. The Irish battled with the Terrapins in the first set, but weren't able to secure the victory and fell 25-21. In the second set, Notre Dame led until the score was 22-21, but fell behind 24-23. An error by the Terrapins allowed the Irish to tie the score at 24 and closed out the set with a 27-25 victory. Their momentum carried through to the third set, as the Irish pulled ahead early and never looked back, winning 25-21 and bringing the score to 2-1. To close out the match, the Irish battled with the Terrapins through 13 ties and five lead changes before finally winning the set 25-23 and claiming the 3-1 victory. Against Pitt (12-13, 4-8), the Irish had another long battle. Notre Dame fell behind early in the first set, scoring only 13 points against the Panthers and dropping the set 25-13. In the second set, the Irish tied the game at one, battling through two lead changes and five ties for a 25-22 win. The Irish fell behind once more in the third set, leading the game only once before Pitt took over, winning the game handily at 25-17. The Irish were not able to turn their luck around until the fourth set. Irish senior outside hitter Nicole Smith said the fourth set was a turning point for the Irish. "We really came together in the fourth set," Smith said. "We knew that we had to win it. We fought really well together and we were having a lot of fun." The fourth set consisted of 17 ties and five lead changes, but Notre Dame endured and won the set 25-22 to tie the score at two. In the final set, the Irish buckled down and took control early on, never relinquishing the lead and winning the final set 15-9. "I thought the fifth set we were all very focused," Smith said. "I have a lot of confidence in my teammates and we started the fifth set really strong." Smith recorded 12 kills during the game and a team-high four blocks. She said her success and the success of her teammates was due to senior setter Maggie Brindock. "Maggie was making extremely good decisions with her sets," Smith said. "The passers really stepped up to get her the ball and it made it really easy for us to get kills." Smith said much of the Irish success also depended on Notre Dame's ability to stop the Pitt hitters. "They had some really good hitters on each end," Smith said. "We were getting stuck when they were hitting and their outsides were attacking quickly. Our defense did really well in adjusting and picking up the sets." The Irish are back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Syracuse for another conference match. Contact Katie Heit at kheit@nd.edu  

Men's Interhall: Knights win rivalry matchup

Men's Cross Country: Grady leads in postseason

Football: Bringing out the bench

DeFranks: What happens in the cafeteria (Nov. 5)

What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. What happens in the locker room stays in the locker room. What happens in the cafeteria stays in the cafeteria? Apparently not. A different side of the football fraternity reared its head this week when Dolphins offensive lineman Jonathan Martin left the team after some teammates teased him in the cafeteria. He missed Miami's Thursday night win over Cincinnati with what was being called an "illness." Martin is reportedly seeking emotional help during his absence from the team and his return date is unknown. But this incident brings out more questions than, "When is Martin coming back to play football and smash into other 300-pound men that are trying to drag people to the ground?" What was said to him? Was there something done to him as well? Is this a common thing in the NFL? Is this a common thing with the Dolphins? Has Martin been teased a lot before? How much stress are these players under? These questions are not the ones Dolphins coach Joe Philbin wants to answer this week. Instead of tossing love and support out to Martin through the media, Philbin probably would enjoy having his right tackle back on the team - which, by the way, won for the first time since the government closed. Teammates sounded like they would welcome back Martin with open arms if or when he returns to the 'Fins, even if they were the ones who started this madness in the first place. According to reports, Martin was called a "big weirdo," among other things, which likely were not fit for print nor television. No one knows what situation in which was said, or with what tone or even if Martin responded. But the fact is that those two words got out. What happened in the cafeteria did not stay in the cafeteria. More reports surfaced Sunday that Dolphins offensive lineman Richie Incognito was the man to blame and the Dolphins have suspended him indefinitely. Incognito reportedly told Martin to pay for a $15,000 trip to Las Vegas for the offensive line that Martin was not even going to. What was going to happen in Vegas did not stay in Vegas. Now, every opposing defensive lineman will be taunting Martin with "big weirdo" jabs or "crybaby" jokes. Every coach will think that if Martin cannot take teasing from his own teammates, will he be able to handle me yelling at him? Martin may always be known as "that one guy who left the salad bar after his teammates called him names" even though he went to Stanford and had started the first 23 games in his career. Unless he comes back as a Pro Bowler, his career could be defined by this bizarre incident. But is coming back to the NFL really such a good move for a 24-year-old man with emotional issues? At a time like this, you have to think about the person before you think about the football player. Clearly, Martin is. If he wasn't, he would have suited up for Miami on Thursday. No one but Martin knows what he is going through and if he thinks some time off is best, it probably is. But this is not something you can put a timetable on. He did not tear his ACL, break his collarbone or suffer a concussion. You do not know if he is out for nine months, four weeks or five days. He probably does not even know. Just like you do not know what mood you will wake up in tomorrow morning, Martin does not know if his issues will be resolved. I do not personal know Martin and have no idea if he truly is a "big weirdo." But if he is, he is the Dolphins' "big weirdo." He is Philbin's "big weirdo." He is the offensive line's "big weirdo." He is the fans' "big weirdo." And that does not have to stay in the cafeteria. Contact Matthew DeFranks at mdefrank@nd.edu  The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.

ND Swimming and Diving: Irish see positives in performance at Purdue

The No. 22 Irish took to the water on Friday seeking to end a decade of road losses Purdue in the Boilermaker Aquatic Center. Notre Dame (1-3) was unable to translate solid times into scoreboard success, falling to the Boilermakers (1-0) 208-98. "If you don't look at the score, I think we swam very well against a very tough Purdue team," Irish coach Tim Welsh said. "We had a lot of top times. In swimming there are two kinds of excellence: excellence of time and excellence of place. On Friday we definitely had an excellence of time." Notre Dame started the meet with a disqualification in the 200-yard medley relay. The Irish would have finished first and put Notre Dame in an early hole from which the team would never recover. "That disqualification really took the air out of our tires right from the start, especially because we would have won. But I am really not discouraged from Friday. Everything is a work in progress and this team is progressively getting better each week," Welsh said. Friday's dual meet was not without its share of individual success for the Irish. Senior Frank Dyer took first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of 1:38.64, and junior Mike Nappi won the 1,650 yard-freestyle, clocking in at 15:48.15. Dyer, an All-American, nearly added another first-place finish for the Irish, finishing a mere .10 behind Purdue freshman Filip Bujoczek in the 500-yard freestyle. The team was hoping to build off its success after spending the fall break training in Colorado. Culminating with a 134-128 victory against Air Force on Oct. 25, the week afforded the Irish the unique opportunity to train at high altitudes. "Overall, that was a grand experience, really positive all the way around," Welsh said. "I think we will continue to reap the benefits of that conditioning for the rest of the season." On the diving boards, freshman Joseph Coumos continued his early-season success, finishing second in both the 1-meter and 3-meter boards. In only his second meet of his collegiate career, Cuomos nearly took first for the Irish in the 1-meter board, finishing with a score of 363.60 points, right behind Boilermaker Layne Rogers' winning mark of 365.55 points. The Irish will continue their campaign this weekend at the Trees Pool in Pittsburgh, where they will open ACC competition in a tri-meet against Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech. The meet will mark the third consecutive weekend in which the Irish have been on the road. Notre Dame will finally return to the Rolfs Aquatic Center for their first home meet in more that a month on Nov. 15, when it takes on Michigan State. "Our schedule is a really challenging one," Welsh said. "Every week has a tough opponent. Next weekend, we are on the road again, facing a much improved Pittsburgh and a Virginia Tech team that is one of the strongest in the ACC," Welsh said. Contact Henry Hilliard at rhillia1@nd.edu

SMC Volleyball: Belles win, clinch spot in MIAA tournament

Going into their match against Adrian, the Belles had a relatively simple goal: Win, or the season was over. After a hard-fought match that went all five sets, the Belles (12-14, 8-8 MIAA) captured the 3-2 victory (25-11, 25-22, 23-25, 22-25, 15-9) over the Bulldogs (11-17, 4-12 MIAA), to extend their season and place them in the MIAA conference tournament for the first time since 2008. Belles coach Toni Elyea said she could not be prouder of her team's resilience. "[Clinching a spot] has been on our minds since last fall when we missed our goal by two wins," Elyea said. "It was a very tough competitive year in the MIAA. It takes a team that wants to put the team before themselves to have the success that we have had so far this year, and we have teammates like [sophomore right side] Jen Georgeson, [junior outside hitter] Brooke Fowler and [junior setter] Carolyn Schafer who are going to do whatever they can to help their teammates. We would not be where we are without every single one of them contributing to the best of their abilities." Offensively, the Belles benefitted from a balanced back line. Junior libero Meredith Mersits had 27 digs on the evening, while junior outside hitter Kati Schneider and sophomore outside hitter Katie Hecklinski both posted a double-double. Schneider had 11 digs and 24 kills and Hecklinski had 17 digs and 19 kills. Junior libero Samantha Grady had 13 digs. However, the Belles cannot spend too much time celebrating, Elyea said, as their next test will prove to be a challenge. For the first match of the tournament the Belles drew the Calvin Knights (27-1, 15-1 MIAA), who are the top-ranked team in the tournament. Elyea recognizes the challenge, as well as what her team needs to do to win. "We are not only going up against the top team in our conference, we are once again going up against the top team in the country," Elyea said. "We love this about our conference. We are happy to have this level of volleyball in the MIAA and be able to compete against the very best that Division III volleyball has to offer." "We are going to focus on our serve and pass game, and playing against a tough block. We are going to have to play the best volleyball that we are capable of to get the win." The Belles take on the Knights on Friday at Calvin for the first round of the MIAA conference tournament at 7:30 p.m. Contact Mike Ginocchio at mginocch@nd.edu

SMC Cross Country: Saint Mary's claims third

The Belles finished just two points ahead of Alma to edge the Scots out of third place and claimed the third-place title for themselves at the MIAA Championships on Saturday at the West Ottawa Golf Club in Holland, Mich. The Belles culminated the season in third place in the final MIAA standings to match the 2010 team with the best finish in program history. Saint Mary's also had five individual runners earn personal-record times at the meet Saturday. The Belles completed the race with an overall score of 102. No. 5 Calvin and No. 2 Hope finished ahead of Saint Mary's with scores of 21 and 26, respectively. Alma finished fourth with 104 points. "[Saturday] was such a great day," head coach Jackie Bauters said. "The entire team ran well. It matches the highest overall place we have finished in the conference. "I'm extremely proud of everyone and their effort on the course." Senior Jessica Biek again led the way for the Belles. Biek placed ninth overall and ran a personal-record time of 22:46. Following the conclusion of the race, Biek became the sixth runner in program history to earn All-MIAA honors. She earned a spot on the second team for her finishes at the MIAA Jamboree on Sept. 28 and the championship race. "I am so excited to see her reach her goal of breaking into the top 10," Bauters said. "She made the second All-MIAA team, and she is the first Belle to do so in a good handful of years." Biek's time marks the second-fastest finish by a Saint Mary's runner in the conference championship, behind Megan Gray and her 22:18 time at the 2007 MIAA Championships. "[Biek] has been primed for that kind of race and just needed to trust that it was possible," Bauters said. "She ran a really smart race, letting the lead pack take it out and sit back a little until the second half of the race. She was running about 16th place for most the race and then made her move." The remaining members of the Belles' squad also contributed strong individual performances to help secure the team's third-place finish. Belles freshman Brittany Beeler ran a season-best pace of 23:08 and finished in 15th place. Sophomore Allie Danhof (24:03), sophomore Katelyn Dunn (24:15), and senior Colette Curtis (24:28) all ran personal-record times to assist the Belles in their third-place finish. The veteran Curtis' strong performance and 29th-place finish impressed Bauters. "As a senior, she had her lifetime [personal record] in the 6k and ran fifth for the team, definitely helping us beat Alma in the final standings," Bauters said. Junior Erin Knauf also ran her best time of the season with a 24:34 for 30th place, and junior SameeChittenden finished 32nd with her personal record time of 24:41. Following the conclusion of the conference schedule, the Belles will prepare to end their season at the NCAA Regionals on Nov. 16. "Our focus [heading into this race] is going to be on staying healthy and getting a few final quality workouts in before the Regional," Bauters said. "I'm sure it's going to be an excited group again." Contact Kit Loughran at kloughr1@nd.edu

SMC Soccer: Belles face Trine to close season

The Belles will wrap up their season today with a home game against MIAA opponent Trine. Last time the Belles (9-7-3, 7-5-3 MIAA) met Trine (2-16, 1-14) on Trine's home field, they won 1-0 in a nail-biting double-overtime match. The Belles stand in fifth place in the MIAA conference and were mathematically eliminated from the MIAA conference championships in late October. Trine has also failed to qualify for the MIAA conference championships and stands in last place in the MIAA conference. Only the top four squads will compete in the end of season conference tournament. Against Trine, the Belles will rely on players such as freshman forward Rosie Biehl, junior forward Kelly Wilson and sophomore midfielder Maggie McLaughlin. Biehl is the Belles lead goal scorer with five goals this season. Wilson and McLaughlin come in second and third for goal scoring with three and two goals, respectively, while each adding an assist on the season. The Belles will also look for a strong performance between the pipes from junior goalkeeper ChanlerRosenbaum. Rosenbaum has had a total of 76 saves this season, with a save percentage of 78.8 percent. Rosenbaum has faced 166 shots in 16 appearances, including 15 starts, this season. The Belles will have to defend Trine's top scorer sophomore Skyler Reed in order to come out with a win. Reed has scored three goals this season and has added three assists. The Belles will kick off their final game of the season today at 3 p.m. by welcoming in Trine. 

DeFranks: If tight win is any indication, BCS hopes could be fading (Nov. 4)

ND Cross Country: Irish finish in top five in ACC