SEWANEE, Tenn. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team was on the short end of a 25-14 final against Gwynedd Mercy in a neutral site game hosted by Sewanee on Wednesday.

 

The teams traded goals back-and-forth over the opening six-plus minutes of action. Gabby Belsito got the Belles on the scoreboard first, and Katie Haas added the next two Saint Mary's goals as the Belles held a 3-2 advantage 6:08 into the game. The Belles turned defense into offense with a ground ball pickup by Valentina Rubio leading to a goal by Shannon McCloskey just 27 seconds later for a 4-2 lead. The Griffins got a goal back two minutes later and added a trio of quick goals in succession to go up 6-4 with 1:05 remaining. That was more than enough time for the Belles to erase the deficit as McCloskey found the back of the net again with 44 seconds on the clock. Haas came away with the next draw control, and Christiana Singler put away a free position goal with eight seconds remaining in the quarter to tie the game 6-6.

 

Draw controls proved to be a big difference-maker in the second quarter as the Griffins held a 7-1 advantage in the category over the second 15 minutes of action. A goal followed by two draws by Gwynedd Mercy early in the period led to two more goals as the Griffins extended their lead to 10-6. After the Griffins edged ahead 11-6, Shannon McCloskey tallied her third goal of the game to pull the Belles within four, but Gwynedd Mercy posted a late goal for a 12-7 halftime lead.

 

The Belles came out strong in the third quarter as Sarah Frick and Katie Haas each scored a goal in the opening minute of the period to cut the deficit to 12-9. The Griffins, however, regained the momentum with a 6-0 scoring spurt over the next six-plus minutes of competition for an 18-9 advantage. Haas and Frick again scored within seconds of one another to break up the scoring run, and Haas and McCloskey posted back-to-back goals late in the quarter as the score stood at 21-13 in favor of the Griffins heading to the final period.

 

After a 15-goal third quarter, both sides had some trouble finding the back of the net in the final stanza. The Griffins made it a 22-13 game with 8:36 to play. Erin Dotson then hit a cutting Katie Haas in the critical scoring area, and Haas buried the shot for her sixth goal of the game with 7:16 remaining. The Griffins, however, capped off the game with three additional goals for the 25-14 final.

 

Katie Haas led the Belles with six goals and added an assist for a team-high seven points. The senior matched her career-high with 12 draw controls while posting three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Shannon McCloskey tied her career-high mark for goals in a game with four. Gabby Belsito added a goal and two assists with five draw controls. Sarah Frick posted two goals, and Christiana Singler tallied a goal, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers. Valentina Rubio had a team-high four ground balls and added two caused turnovers on defense. Alexis Fady made eight saves in goal over the first half of play. Emma Zmudzinski registered four saves in the second half.

 

The Belles (2-3) return home to host Concordia University Chicago on Wednesday, March 16 at 6:00 p.m.