NOTRE DAME, Ind. - A big fourth quarter by the visiting Hornets saw the Saint Mary's lacrosse team come up short in a 20-12 final against Kalamazoo on Senior Day.
Kalamazoo opened the game with the first two goals of the contest, but the Belles came right back.
Valentina Rubio went end-to-end after causing a turnover before picking up the ground ball and buried a goal with 11:45 on the clock.
Christiana Singler caused a turnover moments after the ensuing draw control, and
Cate Krema connected with
Reese Bauer as Bauer put away a goal to knot the game at 2-2. The Hornets countered with three goals in a row as Saint Mary's opted for a timeout.
Emma Zmudzinski smothered a save a minute later, and
Alyssa Grant reeled in a pass from Bauer before sending home a goal with 2:30 to go in the period. Rubio came away with the ensuing draw and took care of the rest with her second goal of the contest to edge the Belles within one at 5-4 with just over two minutes to go. The two sides played a back-and-forth stretch before
Lana Skibins found Grant in the critical scoring area, and Grant did the rest to tie the game at 5-5.
The Belles took advantage of a player-up opportunity to open the second quarter as
Alyssa Grant found the back of the net yet again to give Saint Mary's a 6-5 lead. Back-to-back Kalamazoo goals saw the lead trade hands again, but
Cate Krema pulled the Belles back even with 11:36 on the clock to tie up the score at 7-7. After another Kalamazoo goal, Grant had a shot ricochet off the crossbar.
Kathryn Kalinowski kept the possession alive with a ground ball, and
Valentina Rubio ripped a shot in off of a free position chance with 8:00 on the clock to tie things up at 8-8. Kalamazoo regained the lead with under seven minutes to play, and the Hornets added a player-up goal three minutes later for a 10-8 lead. Neither team registered a shot over the final three minutes of the quarter as Kalamazoo held a two-goal lead at the halftime break.
The defense shut down a pair of possessions early in the third quarter, and
Alyssa Grant put away a free position goal with 12:01 on the clock to make it a one-goal game. Kalamazoo countered quickly with a goal less than a minute later.
Emma Zmudzinski posted a big save on a free position chance for Kalamazoo while another shot by
Alyssa Grant glanced off the crossbar the other way. After several changes in possession without a shot, Kalamazoo was the side to break through with a goal with 5:07 remaining in the quarter. Zmudzinski posted two more saves in the span of a minute, and the Belles successfully fended off a two-player-down situation as it remained 12-9 going into the fourth quarter.
Christiana Singler gave the Belles an early boost with a free position goal at 13:25 to make it 12-10. The Hornets, however, posted four goals in quick succession to build a 16-10 lead with 9:57 on the clock. Kalamazoo extended their lead to 19-10 over the six minutes of action. Saint Mary's continued to play hard, and
Alyssa Grant put away a goal with under three minutes on the clock.
Reese Bauer added a goal 30 seconds later to make it a 19-12 score, but a late goal by Kalamazoo closed out the scoring in a 20-12 final.
The Belles (1-11, 0-5 MIAA) are back home for their penultimate regular season game as they host Calvin on Wednesday, April 24 at 6:00 p.m. The game is also the team's Morgan's Message dedication game to raise awareness about mental health.
