GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. - Seven different players scored at least one goal and Emily Kraker made 15 saves as the Saint Mary's lacrosse team earned a 16-10 win over Calvin on Wednesday evening.

 

The Belles got on the scoreboard first after an extended possession led to a goal by Gabby Belsito less than three minutes into the game. Less than three minutes later, Belsito found the back of the net for a second time to make it a 2-0 score five minutes into play. Belsito then picked up an assist 2:19 later with Katie Haas burying a goal to give the Belles a lead they would not relinquish. 

 

The Knights put back-to-back goals on the scoreboard to edge within a goal, but Erin Doyle found the back of the net with a free position goal a minute later. Emily Kraker made a save midway through the half, and Molly Mullett gave Saint Mary's a 5-2 edge with a goal with 11:39 on the clock. Calvin responded with a quick goal on their next possession, but the Belles tallied back-to-back goals in the span of 58 seconds for a 7-3 advantage. Each time the Knights tried to put together a scoring run, Saint Mary's found an answer. A Calvin goal with 6:36 to play in the first half was followed by an Erin Dotson goal just 15 seconds later, and Belsito registered her third goal of the contest with 4:32 remaining for a 9-4 Saint Mary's lead. Emily Kraker posted two big saves late in the half, but the Knights were able to find a late goal to make it 9-5 at the break.

 

Kraker continued to make big save after big save to keep the Calvin offense in check. The senior co-captain had back-to-back close-range saves in the span of 10 seconds early in the second half. Kraker added another save two minutes later before coming up with a stop on a Calvin free position shot. The Knights snuck one past Kraker with 23:23 on the clock, but Molly Mullett cut through the critical scoring area just over a minute later before burying a goal for a 10-6 Saint Mary's lead. Bridget Kane added a goal of her own nearly four minutes later, and an Erin Doyle goal made it a 12-6 game. Saint Mary's won the next draw control, and Belsito found her fourth goal of the game just 17 seconds later for a 13-6 lead as the Knights called a timeout.

 

Calvin came out of the timeout with a lot of pressure on offense, but Kraker was up to the task with a stuff save on a shot from just outside the goal circle midway through the half. The Knights did get on the scoreboard with a free position goal with 13:36 to play. A strong re-defend by Bridget Kane gave the junior a free position attempt, and Kane netted the close-range shot for a 14-7 advantage.

 

The Belles' defense continued to stand tall. Sarah Frick knocked down a pass on a free position opportunity to stop a scoring chance for the Knights. Calvin made it 14-8 with 9:44 on the clock, but Kraker had a save on a close-range shot from an open cutter with just under nine minutes to go. The senior made yet another save, but the Knights scored their second consecutive goal with 5:59 to play to make it a 14-9 score. A yellow card called against Saint Mary's gave Calvin a player-up opportunity, but Erin Doyle broke up a clearing pass from the Knights' goalie, picked up the ground ball, drew a pair of free position attempts, and scored a player-down goal in the span of 37 seconds for a 15-9 lead. Sarah Frick got on the scoresheet with a player-up goal with 1:38 to play to put the Belles up 16-9. The Knights, meanwhile, scored a late goal for the final 16-10 score.

 

Saint Mary's held a 30-28 advantage in ground balls while Calvin had a 21-7 edge in draw controls. The Belles scored on four of five free position shots while limiting the Knights to two goals on three free position attempts. 

 

Erin Doyle posted four goals, four caused turnovers, five ground balls, and two draw controls. Gabby Belsito had career-highs of four goals and five points as the junior tallied an assist and a ground ball. Bridget Kane registered a hat trick with three goals, four ground balls, and two caused turnovers. Molly Mullett added two goals, an assist, four ground balls, three draw controls, and three caused turnovers. Erin Dotson scored a goal and had two assists, Katie Haas tallied a goal and an assist, and Sarah Frick scored a goal to go along with two caused turnovers. Emily Kraker made 15 saves in goal as the senior stopped 60.0 percent of the Calvin shots on goal in the game.