OLIVET, Mich. - Saint Mary's College Soccer defeated the University of Olivet, 4-0, for their first MIAA win on Tuesday. The Belles improve to 4-5-1 (1-2 MIAA) on the year while the Comets fall to 1-8-1 (0-2 MIAA).
The Saint Mary's offense got things going fast early in the game. As graduate midfielder Ava Slater (Fort Wayne, IN) controlled the ball in the middle of the field, she found the foot of sophomore Mia Johnson (Mission Viejo, CA) holding off her defender. Johnson dribbled off her defender and into the box and fired a ball into the left side of the net to take an early lead just four minutes in.Â
In the 22nd minute, after the ball was knocked around in the box, freshman Elizabeth Pranger (Fort Wayne, IN) found the ball at her feet outside the box. She then dribbled around two Olivet defenders and slotted the ball past the Comet goalkeeper into the bottom left corner to double the Belles lead. Nine minutes later, after a foul just outside the box, freshman Ainsley Johnson (Cincinnati, OH) took the free kick and floated a beautiful ball over the diving hands of the goalkeeper to put the Belles ahead 3-0 heading into halftime. The Belles took a 16-0 shot advantage in the half as the offense dominated the first 45 minutes.
As the Saint Mary's offense continued to control the game, in the 69th minute, senior Layne Ridderman (Augusta, MI) was brought to the ground in the box and secured a penalty kick for the Belles. After earning the penalty, Ridderman stepped up to the spot and slotted home a perfect ball into the bottom right hand corner past a diving hand of the Olivet goalkeeper to put the Belles ahead 4-0. Saint Mary's would continue to dominate offensively and saw out the remainder of the match, taking their first MIAA victory of the season.
Mia Johnson, Pranger, Ainsley Johnson, and Ridderman all tallied goals on the afternoon while Slater tallied an assist. Slater led the team with seven shots while Mia Johnson added six. Pranger and freshman Isabelle Knese (St. Louis, MO) added four shots each while Ainsley Johnson and Ridderman added three a piece off the bench. Slater, Mia Johnson, Ainsley Johnson, and Ridderman all added a team high three shots on goal each.
Junior goalkeeper Keona Caraballo (Parma, OH) tallied her first win of the season in her first start.
As a team, the Belles outshot the Comets 34-0 including a 17-0 advantage in shots on goal. The team also added a 13-1 advantage in corner kicks taken.
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES
Saint Mary's returns home for back-to-back matches starting on Saturday as they host Trine University for an early 11am kickoff. The Belles are back in action on October 14 when they host Alma College for a 4pm kickoff.
