NOTRE DAME, Ind. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team outscored visiting Calvin 6-2 in the fourth quarter to take a 19-16 conference win on Friday afternoon.

 

Saint Mary's established the lead with a goal by Bridget Kane and a goal by Katie Haas for a 2-0 lead less than five minutes into the contest. Calvin responded with a pair of goals to knot the game, but the momentum was short-lived for the Knights as Christiana Singler regained the lead for the Belles with a goal less than a minute later. Erin Dotson found the back of the net with just over a minute remaining in the period, and Kane gave the home side an extra boost of momentum heading into the quarter break with a goal with 32 seconds on the clock for a 5-2 advantage. 

 

The Belles continued to have an answer for the Knights throughout the second quarter. Haas and Shannon McCloskey scored back-to-back goals for a 7-3 lead, Gabby Belsito kept Saint Mary's ahead by multiple goals with under five minutes on the clock to make it 8-5, and Sarah Frick buried a shot off of a feed from Gabby Belsito in the final minute of the quarter for a 9-7 Saint Mary's lead at halftime. 

 

The Knights, however, kept chipping away and building momentum throughout the third quarter. Calvin put two goals on the scoreboard early in the period to tie the game at 9-9. Kane found the back of the net in response for a 10-9 lead and added another response goal a few minutes later for an 11-10 Saint Mary's lead. Back-to-back free position goals by Calvin gave the Knights their first lead at 12-11 with 5:21 remaining in the quarter. Sarah Frick pulled the Belles even with a free position goal, and Shannon McCloskey tied the game at 13-13 with 43 seconds on the clock. Calvin, however, scored in transition in the closing seconds of the quarter for a 14-13 lead going into the final stanza.

 

Shannon McCloskey pulled Saint Mary's even with a goal less than three minutes into the fourth quarter, and Sarah Frick found the back of the net two minutes later for a 15-14 lead as the Belles gained the momentum back in their favor. Kane struck quickly after Frick with a goal, and Julia Gorski put away a goal with 8:45 on the clock for a 17-14 lead for the home side. Calvin continued to fight down the stretch and used two consecutive goals to make it a 17-16 game with 4:43 to play. Gorski put away a free position goal a minute later to give the Belles an 18-16 lead. The defense stood tall for Saint Mary's as the Belles withstood three shots by the Knights before Kane came away with a big ground ball with just over a minute to play. Sarah Frick then put away an insurance goal in transition to make it 19-16 with 52 seconds to go. The Belles all but ran out the clock after Erin Dotson won the next draw control as Saint Mary's took the three-goal win.

 

Bridget Kane had a career-high nine points as the senior led the team in both goals and assists with five and four, respectively. She added a team-high six draw controls while causing a turnover and picking up two ground balls. Sarah Frick scored a career-high four goals needing just four shots to reach the milestone. The senior added a career-best five draw controls. Shannon McCloskey tallied a hat trick with three goals and tied her career-best mark of five ground balls. 

 

Julia Gorski posted two goals, an assist, and a career-best three ground balls. Katie Haas scored two goals, and Gabby Belsito notched a goal, two assists, two caused turnovers, and three ground balls. Erin Dotson had a goal and four draw controls, and Christiana Singler scored a goal with a ground ball.

 

Defensively, Lindsey Herdsman picked up five ground balls with two caused turnovers while Valentina Rubio posted two caused turnovers and two ground balls. Alexis Fady collected a new career-high 12 saves with a pair of ground balls.

 

The Belles (6-4, 2-0 MIAA) are set to host Kalamazoo on Tuesday, April 19 starting at 6:00 p.m.