NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Saint Mary's College Lacrosse earned a dominating 19-4 win over Elmhurst University in their home opener on Saturday. The win makes this the best start in program history, with the team's fifth win in six games. The Belles improve to 5-1 on the year while the Blue Jays fall to 3-5.
 
Saint Mary's also celebrated their four seniors on Saturday for Senior Day. They honored seniors Maura Ryan (Roswell, GA), Sarah Crofford (Morristown, NJ), Mary Grace Heekin (Fayetteville, GA), and Alyssa Grant (Oak Lawn, IL).
 
The Belles kicked the game off quickly as junior Rachel Speckhard (Munster, IN) found the back of the net off a pass from fellow junior Lana Skibins (Granger, IN) to get the scoring started. Less than two minutes later, junior Kathryn Kalinowski (Atlanta, GA) added to a strong scoring run to open the game. Speckhard followed that with her second goal of the game before Grant found her first of the game, assisted by Kalinowski. The Belles 5-0 finished after sophomore Piper Downey (Northbrook, IL) tallied her first goal of the game. Elmhurst scored their first goal with eight minutes to play before Grant got her second of the day while a man up. The Blue Jays scored once more before the end of the quarter, going into the first break with Saint Mary's ahead, 6-2.
 
Elmhurst added to their total just 13 seconds into the second quarter, but the Saint Mary's offense was just getting started. The Belles would score three straight man-up goals as junior Kelsey King (Sylvania, OH) got things started with an assist from Speckhard. Grant then followed that up with back-to-back goals to secure her hat trick on the day with assists from Kalinowski and Skibins. Speckhard added her third goal for her hat trick with another assist from Skibins before with just over four minutes to play in the half, Grant scored her fifth goal of the game, with an assist from sophomore Annabelle Spruill (Brookhaven, GA), surpassing 100 career points in her Saint Mary's career. The scoring wouldn't stop there for the Belles as junior Anneliese Kalman (Matthews, NC) scored her first goal of the game with an assist from Downey. Speckhard finished off the half with a goal with just under a minute to play to put the Belles ahead by ten, assisted by Grant, and sending the Belles into halftime ahead, 13-3.
 
Grant continued her hot day with a goal just 26 seconds into the second half while Kalinowski added her third assist of the day. King then found the back of the net for her second goal with an assist from Speckhard. After Elmhurst added to their total, freshman Carly Lenhart (Ada, MI) scored her first collegiate goal with an assist from Skibins. The Belles defense shined in the second half as they went into the final quarter, leading 16-4.
 
The scoring continued for Saint Mary's in the fourth as Grant scored her seventh goal of the game off a pass from Skibins. With just over five minutes to play, Heekin got her first goal of the season with another assist from Skibins, her sixth assist on the game. The offense wouldn't slow down as with just under two minutes to play, sophomore Mia Haines (Omaha, NE) scored her first goal of the season to secure the 19-4 victory.
 
Grant led the team with seven goals on the day, her fourth hat trick of the season, while Speckhard added four for her fifth straight hat trick and King adding two. Six other Belles added a goal each. Skibins tallied a career-high six assists on the game while Kalinowski added three for third time this season. Speckhard added two of her own while three other Belles added one. Grant led with eight points on the day while both Speckhard and Skibins added six and Kalinowski had four.
 
Defensively, Heekin and King led the team with three ground balls each. Freshman Ella Klingerman (Noblesville, IN) led the team with four caused turnovers on the day. Speckhard and freshman Sophia Martinello (Elmhurst, IL) led with five draw controls each while freshman June McMahon (River Forest, IL) added three.
 
In goal, Ryan made her first career start and earned her first win while making six saves on the day. Sophomore Kaya Seaboy (Evansville, IN) also made an appearance, making two saves.
 
UP NEXT FOR THE BELLES:
Saint Mary's hits the road for back-to-back make up games on March 24 and 25. Starting with a trip to Franklin College on Tuesday before heading to Beloit College on Wednesday. The Belles return home on Friday, March 27, as they host the University of Wisconsin Stevens-Point.