VERONA, Wis. - The Saint Mary's lacrosse team battled but ultimately fell short in a 16-11 final at Edgewood on Saturday afternoon.
It was a back-and-forth game from the start. Cate Krema notched the opening goal of the season for the Belles less than a minute into the game, and Alyssa Grant put Saint Mary's up 2-1 three minutes later. After back-to-back goals by Edgewood, the Belles got back-to-back goals by Krema to go up 4-3 midway through the first quarter. The Eagles pulled even with a goal with just over five minutes to go in the period before gaining a 5-4 lead with a goal in the final minute of the quarter.
A strong re-defend saw the Belles force the Eagles into a failed clear attempt deep in the offensive end for Saint Mary's, and Valentina Rubio buried a shot from just outside the goal circle to knot the game at 5-5 a minute and a half into the second quarter. Edgewood regained the lead with a pair of goals, but a perfectly threaded pass by Kathryn Kalinwoski from the top of the 12-meter arc to Alyssa Grant saw Grant put away a goal with 10:17 on the clock to pull the Belles within one. The teams traded goals again with Julia Gorski assisting a goal by Grant to make it 8-7. Edgewood, however, extended their lead with a pair of goals to go up 10-7. Emma Zmudzinski made a point-blank save with under six minutes on the clock, and a strong collective effort by the Belles defense on the next Edgewood possession saw the Eagles come up empty-handed. The Eagles, however, made it an 11-7 game with three minutes to go in the quarter on a player-up chance. Christiana Singler got Saint Mary's back on the scoreboard with a free position goal with 1:45 on the clock, and the defense stood strong late in the quarter as the Belles stayed within striking distance at 11-8 at the halftime break.
Edgewood got on the scoreboard first to begin the second half of play to gain a 12-8 lead. The score remained unchanged until Alyssa Grant broke through for the Belles with just under nine minutes on the clock. The Eagles countered with back-to-back goals, but Kathryn Kalinowski buried a free position goal with under three minutes remaining in the quarter to cut the deficit to 14-10. The Belles won the ensuing draw control but were unable to capitalize on the chance. Edgewood used their next possession to gain a five-goal lead at 15-10 with 1:36 to play in the period. Emma Zmudzinski came up with another save late in the quarter as the score stood at 15-10 going into the final stanza.
Zmudzinski posted an early save in the fourth, but the Eagles used a free position goal less than five minutes into the period to gain a 16-10 lead. Kalinowski had a free position chance saved and Reese Bauer put a shot on goal only to have the effort stopped as the Belles tried to put together a late comeback. A minute later, Alyssa Grant's effort was saved. Zmudzinski smothered a free position chance with a save and added another save less than a minute later. The offense tried to get a chance in transition only to see Julia Gorski's shot get blocked and Kathryn Kalinowski's attempt get saved. Saint Mary's continued to battle, and a failed clear attempt by Edgewood yielded a goal by Julia Gorski off a pass from Lana Skibins to make it a 16-11 game with three minutes to play. The Belles, however, ran out of time in the comeback attempt as Saint Mary's came up short in the 16-11 final.
Saint Mary's had a 20-11 advantage in draw controls while Edgewood had a 35-32 edge in ground balls.
Alyssa Grant led the Belles with four goals and an assist. Cate Krema registered a hat trick in her first collegiate game with three goals on three shots. Kathryn Kalinowski tallied a goal and two assists, and Christiana Singler added a goal and an assist with a team-high six ground balls and two caused turnovers. Julia Gorski posted a goal and an assist. Valentia Rubio notched a goal, three ground balls, and two caused turnovers. Lana Skibins and Reese Bauer each had an assist and three ground balls. Rubio had a game-high nine draw controls, and Singler came away with a career-best seven draw controls. Kelsey King had five ground balls and two caused turnovers, and Elizabeth Bourassa picked up three ground balls with a caused turnover. Emma Zmudzinski tallied 10 saves and added three ground balls.
The Belles (0-1) are back in action on Sunday when they take on Carroll (Wis.) at 1:00 p.m. CST.